Research
article (translated from Russian by Evgeny Rodin, edited by Sergey Suranov), 2021
Suranov Sergey
Content:
Part 1. Introduction
Part 2. Back to the Future: From the Days of the Prophet Daniel to the Time of the
Exodus, and Step by Step Back...
Part 3. How and Why Interest in Metatron the Archangel Michael Developed
Part 4. "The Word" in the Tanakh, "Memra" in the Targums and
"Logos" in Philo
Part 5. Christian Writers of the New Testament
Part 6. The Early Church and Later Generations
Part 7. Summary and Conclusion: Back to the Future 2 - From the Beginning to the End.
(You can
view each part individually on Russian here: https://bibleistika-i-vse.blogspot.com/2019/12/1.html
or in full
pdf format in English: https://vk.com/doc-189469430_614925848?hash=448f4ef81d6135355f&dl=ff7f7a65e744445e6d )
Part 1. Introduction
Isn't that a
curious title for an article? However, for those who are even slightly familiar
with Judaism of the Second Temple period (or Judaism and early Christianity in
general) it says something or a lot... This article may be of interest to
experts in the field of Judaism and biblical studies, as well as to novice
Bible scholars, as well as ordinary believers, especially those who adhere to
Judaism and Christianity. It brings together versatile facts and quotations
concerning the subject and makes a clear parallel and connection with the
Tanakh (the so-called Old Testament) and the Christian Greek Scriptures (the
so-called New Testament). The article consistently reveals the predominant
thought of the Second Temple period, corresponding to the inspired texts of the
Bible, especially in time close to the destruction of the Second Temple and the
ministry of the teacher from Galilee, Jesus Christ, and shows the
historical-cultural-religious context of the writing of the "New
Testament" and the understanding of the first Christians about the
Messiah, the firstborn son of God.
So, to begin
with, I would like to briefly explain each of the names in the title of this
article:
1. Who is Metatron?
"METATRON.
(Hebrew
mĕtatrôn, possibly from Greek Μετάτρον, "standing at the throne"), "the altar angel" in
Judaic mythology (Agadic and Talmudic), the closest to God, receiving orders
directly from him. Related names are "prince of the presence" (sar
happânim, literally "prince of the countenance of God") and "prince
of peace" (sar ha'olam).
In the most
ancient Hagadic writings, he is also called the "pointing finger" of
God; in particular, from the mountain top, he showed Moses the Promised Land
and marched ahead of the Jews in the desert; he also interprets to Abraham the
sacred words by which God created the world, and teaches Moses the law, while
he was forty days and nights on Mount Sinai. Like the Archangel Michael, with
whom he is identified (in particular in the examples cited), M. is an angel of
mercy, an intercessor in the face of God for the people of Israel and, like
him, acts as a divine scribe.
Other
Talmudic sources identify M. with Enoch, whom God took into heaven and made the
supreme angel. This is connected with the characterization of M. as having
passed from human flesh into the element of fire (i.e. angelic). The light
coming from him is a part of the radiance of the heavenly throne (which is the
point of departure in M.'s imagery) on which he alone has the right to sit
(according to another version, he sits behind the throne)... Some sources
identify M. with the patron angel of all mankind.
Lit.: Stier
F,, Gott und sein Engel im Alten Testament, Aschendorff, 1934 (Diss.);
Langton
E" The ministries of the angelic powers..., L., [1936]. M. B.
Mailach.(Source: Myths of the Peoples of the World.)
https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_myphology/3164 "
"Metatron
is, along with Shekhinah, one of the "heavenly intermediaries". The
term Metatron includes the meanings of guardian, lord, messenger, mediator; he
is the cause of divinity in the sensual world. Metatron is endowed not only
with the species of Mercy, but also with the species of Justice; he is not only
the 'Great Priest' (Kohen ha-gadol), but also the 'Great Prince' (Sar
ha-gadol), and the 'leader of the heavenly host', that is, in him is embodied
both the principle of royal power and the basis of priestly or pontifical
power, to which his function as 'mediator' also corresponds." (Wikipedia,
Metatron)
2. Who is Michael?
This name
first appears in the sacred Hebrew texts (the so-called "Old
Testament") in Daniel chapter 10, where Michael is spoken of as "one
of the chief princes (chiefs, leaders)". He, as the chief angel, came to
the aid of the lesser angel who was confronted by the "prince of
Persia". Michael was called "the prince [of the people of
Daniel]" and "the great prince (chief, leader) standing for the
sons... of the people [of Daniel]" (Dan 10:13, 20, 21;12:1).
"Archangel
Michael, Archistratigus Michael (Heb. מיכאל, Heb. מִיכָאֵל [mixåˈʔel],
Michael - "Who is like God?"; the Greek Αρχάγγελος Μιχαήλ) is an
angel mentioned by name in several Biblical books. The Holy Archangel Michael
is the chief archangel and is one of the most venerated Archangels in religions
such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In Orthodoxy he is called
Archistratigus, which means head of the holy host of angels..."
(Wikipedia, Archangel Michael)
3. Who is Memra (Logos) ?
"Memrah
מימרא, 'Maamar', מאמר, 'Logos', 'Word', in the sense of the creative origin of
God's word ...
...It is
difficult to decide how much the Talmudists’ concept of M. coincided with that
which serves us, parallel with divine Wisdom and Shekhinah, and how much it was
influenced by the Greek term "Logos". The latter comprised both word
and mind, and probably through Egyptian mythological representations adopted in
the philosophical system of Heraclitus, Plato and the Stoics the metaphysical
notion of a world-exalting and all-pervading intellect (see Reitzenstein, Zwei
religionsgeschichtliche Fragen, 1901, pp. 83-111; cf. Aall, Der Logos and all
literature on Logos given in Schürer; Gesch, 1, 3, 542-544).
To Philo [of
Alexandria: Jewish theologian (c. 25 B.C. - c. 50 A.D.); note of the author], Logos
served as the cornerstone of his entire semi-Jewish philosophical system. His
"divine thought", "image of the Godhead", "firstborn
son of God", "royal high priest", "intercessor",
"first image of man", first angel - were the harbingers of the
Christian view of the incarnation ("And the word became flesh"). It
is possible that, precisely in view of this dogma, Jewish theologians, with the
exception of the Targum, rarely used the term M. [In Jewish literature, the
term M. (Hebrew literature) corresponds, besides Shekhinah, to other
expressions: the glory of God (כבוד ה׳) and the will of God (רצון ה׳, חפץ); the
latter we find in Gai Gaon and especially in Solomon ibn Gebirol; in Talmudic
writing and in post-Almudic mysticism, the angel Metatron, the world-ruler (מטטרון שר
העולם), takes the place of Memra]. " (Brockhaus and Efron's Jewish
Encyclopaedia, Memra)
So, it is
not difficult to see that there is much in common between these three
appellations, an obvious correlation. And this is no accident, of course...
After all, all these descriptions and data are constructed and based on the
revelations of the sacred text of the Tanakh ("Old Testament"), and
among other interpretations and writings of Judaism, are closer to the holy
Scriptures, including the Christian Scriptures. Is it possible to trace
successively when and how the concept of Metatron has appeared in Judaism, why
is it at times directly identified with the Archangel Michael and how is it connected
with Memra (Logos)? Perhaps yes, if one holds tightly to the divinely inspired
revelations and their interrelationship and coherence...
Part 2. Back to the Future: From the Days of Daniel the Prophet to the Time of the
Exodus, and Step by Step Back...
The prophet
Daniel, who was in captivity in Babylon, and who was given startling and some
key revelations about the destiny of God's people, the throne city of
Jerusalem, the promised Messiah (Mashiach - the anointed one), the kingdom of
God and the destiny of human kingdoms, in addition to all this and in context,
of course, was given one more unique revelation: of a "great prince
(leader)", of a dazzling heavenly personage, a ruler and patron of the
Israelites, named Michael (it was through the prophet Daniel, the name of this
unique heavenly protector of Israelites was mentioned for the first time (see
Dan. 10:13,20,21; 12:1).
This special
guardian angel was spoken of by God Himself when He led the Israelites out of
Egyptian slavery:
"Behold,
I am sending before you an angel to keep you in the way, and to bring you into
the place which I have prepared; watch yourselves before his face, and obey his
voice; do not persevere against him, for he will not forgive your sin, for my
name is in him." (Exodus 23:20,21)
Moving on
through history and the text of Scripture, we can see the following:
"Joshua
(bin Nun), being near Jericho, looked and saw a man standing before him, and in
his hand was a naked sword. And Jesus came to him, and said unto him, Art thou
ours, or art thou of our enemies? He said, 'No; I am the leader of the Lord's
host, now I have come here. And Jesus fell on the ground with his face, and
bowed down, and said unto him, What shall my lord say unto his servant? The
leader of the host of the Lord said to Joshua, "Take your shoes off your
feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Jesus did so." (Joshua
5:13-15)
Christians
call this angel-prince Archistratigus (head of the holy host of angels), the
chief archangel, or as recorded in the Christian Scriptures simply archangel,
that is, translated from the Greek, the chief angel (messenger of God) or chief
over the angels (see Jude 9).
The prophet
Isaiah, shortly before Daniel, seems to have mentioned this Archangel in
chapter 63 of his book:
"I will
remember the mercies of the Lord and the glory of the Lord for all that the
Lord has given us, and His great goodness to the house of Israel, which He has
shown to it according to His mercy and according to the multitude of His
bounties. He said: "Verily they are My people, My children, who shall not
lie," and He was a Saviour to them. In all their distress he did not
forsake them, and an angel of his face
saved them; because of his love and his goodness he redeemed them, and took and
bore them all the days of old. But they revolted and grieved His Holy Spirit;
therefore He turned into their adversary: He Himself fought against them. Then
his people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses: where is he who
brought them out of the sea with the shepherd of his sheep? Where is he who put
his Holy Spirit in their heart, who guided Moses by his right hand with his
mighty arm, who parted the waters before them to make himself an eternal name,
who led them through the depths like a horse through the steppe, and they
stumbled not? As the flock comes down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord
has guided them to rest. So You have led Your people to make a glorious name
for Yourself." (Isa.63:7-14)
These are
perhaps some of the most key Tanakh texts about this patron archangel, not
counting of course the major Old Testament revelation recorded in the book of
Daniel.
So it seems
that the Jews in the era of the second temple had a reason to be interested in
a celestial person of a higher rank... Moreover, the interest was provoked by
God Himself, who gave them such a powerful guardian angel, and on whom He paid
close attention in connection with the fulfillment of His promises of the
kingdom through the prophet Daniel, shortly before the promised arrival of the
Messiah (anointed one), son of David, son of Abraham ...
In the next
part of this article, we will give a brief overview of how this interest
developed in that era and what various biblical scholars and scientists say
about it.
Part 3. How and Why the Interest in Metatron the Archangel Michael Developed
How did the
interest in the mysterious celestial personage of the highest rank begin?
It seems
that Israelites even before the prophet Daniel had more or less understood from
sacred texts about a special angel, the representative of God (Ex.23:20-21),
the patron of the people, the leader of the host of heaven (Joshua 5:14). And
what was shown and told to Daniel?
To
understand clearly, it is good to look at it all together, and first of all to
remember the time when Daniel lived...
The prophet
Daniel was in Babylonian captivity, his land was conquered by enemies, the
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the capital of the Jewish kingdom,
Jerusalem, and the temple of their God on Mount Zion, thus depriving the Jews
of the heads of their people, the anointed of God: the king and the high priest
...
And so,
after fasting and praying for God's people, their capital and, very
importantly, for God's temple, where the high priest who intercedes
(patronizes) for the people should have served, someone majestic and dazzling
appears before Daniel in a vision:
"Behold,
there is a man clothed in a linen robe, and his loins are girded with gold of
Uphaz, his body like a topaz, his face like the form of lightning, his eyes
like burning lamps, his hands and his feet like shining copper, and his voice
like the voice of a multitude." (Dan.10:5,6)
Judging from
the description, this "man" was also dressed as Israel's high priest
of God, and yet on one of the special and important days for the Jews - Yom
Kippur - the day of redemption for all the people:
"A holy
linen chiton shall he put on, a linen undergarment shall he put on his body,
and with a linen girdle shall he girdle himself, and a linen kidar shall he put
on: these are holy garments" (Lev.16:4).
The fact
that he was not wearing a linen girdle, but the finest gold, showed the
superiority of this priest, his heavenly position, as well as the other details
of his appearance... Although the Israelites had no earthly high priest at that
time, they had a more powerful and excellent high priest, a heavenly one, who
appeared to the prophet for consolation and important revelations.
After this
amazing vision, Daniel, being of course unable to perceive information from
such a majestic person, falls unconscious, and he is helped to come to his
senses by one of the angels, who, as at other times, took the form of an
ordinary man (Dan.10:8-11). Apparently it was Gabriel (for more details see: «Michael's
appearance to Daniel and the vision of Christ in Revelation 1»), who had already dealt with Daniel and who, according to Scripture, was
sent with especially important messages concerning the promised Messiah (see
for example Dan.8:16). This messenger explains to the prophet exactly who he
saw in the vision and why, and what role this exalted figure will play in the
future in connection with the kingdom of God, which must to crush the kingdoms
of the world (Dan.2:44).
This is what
he explains to Daniel:
"And he
said to me, 'Do not be afraid, Daniel; for from the very first day that you
gave up your heart to gain understanding and to be broken before your God, your
words have been heard; and I went according to your words. And the prince of
the kingdom of Persia stood before me for twenty-one days... And it came to
pass, that one of the first princes, Michael, came to help me... And I was left
there with the kings of Persia... And I came to tell you what shall happen to
your people at the end of the days: for the vision relates as yet to those
days..." (Dan. 10:12-14)
The angel
further adds: "He said, 'Do you know why I have come to you? And now I
will return to fight against the prince of Persia... ...and I will go forth...
and behold, Prince Javan will come... I will tell you what is written in the
book of truth... And there is no one who will stand with me against them except
Michael your prince..." (Dan. 10:20,21)
After this
intriguing introduction which called attention to Michael, the heavenly high
priest who appeared in a vision, "one of the first chief priests"
(nearest to God) in the heavenly hierarchy, who was "your prince",
i.e. of the people of Daniel, Israel, Gabriel told the prophet about future
earthly events which were described as an eternal (lasting for many centuries)
confrontation between two great kings of "the south" and "the
north" (see Daniel 11). When at the end of days the northern king will
prevail and oppress God's people, Gabriel again points to Michael as the one
who will become the "great leader" who will rise to defend and remove
the earthly kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, in order to establish messianic
rule:
"And
Michael, the great prince of that time, who stands for the sons of thy people,
shall arise at that time. And there shall be a grave time, such as has not been
seen since the nations existed, until this time. And at that time thy people
shall be saved, all those who shall be found written in the book.
And many of
those who sleep in the flesh shall awake to everlasting life, and these to
shame and everlasting contempt.
And they
that think like the brightness of the firmament shall be made manifest; and
they that have led many to righteousness, as the stars, for ever and ever.
But thou,
Daniel, shut up these words, and seal up this book until the time of the end.
Many will wander [through the Scriptures, that is, thoroughly investigate] and
the knowledge will be multiplied.
Then I see
Daniel, and behold, there are two others standing, one on this side of the
river, and the other on the other side of the river. And one of them said to
the one dressed in a linen robe, who was standing over the waters of the river,
"When is the end of these miracles?"
And I hear
this man dressed in a linen robe, standing over the waters of the river,
lifting up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, swearing to Him who
lives forever, that it will be at the end of time, times, and half a time; and
when the scattering of the handful of the holy people is finished, then all
these things will be accomplished.
And I heard,
and understood not, and said, My lord, what shall be the end of all these
things?
And he said,
Step back, Daniel: for these words are closed and sealed until the time of the
end.
And many
will be purified and made clean, and many will be melted; and the lawless will
do lawless things; and none of the lawless will understand it, but the
right-thinking will understand it." (Dan.12:1-10)
Certainly,
after such revelations and prophecies about God's special angel, the protector
of Israel, when his name was first spoken, indicating one of his most
honourable duties, roles (Michael - "Who is like God?!"), the Jewish
people showed interest in him, as seen in the mainstream (prevailing thought)
of the second Temple era.
Here is what
a renowned researcher Larry Hurtado writes, for example, in his work
"Heavenly Mediators. The Jewish Origins of Early Christology":
"Indeed,
in some texts the image of the great angel is presented as uniquely taking part
in conveying to the world the message of God's authority and role (that is,
being the bearer of God's Name). Our study will show how in the ancient Jewish
religion, with its monotheism that distinguished it from all other religions, a
second figure took its place alongside God, namely the great angel, with no
discernible indication that the concept of such a figure posed any threat to
the concept of one God.
As noted
earlier, the idea of the great angel, with his very special way of
communicating with God, may have originated from the development of the
"angel of the Lord" legend we know from some stories in the
Pentateuch (for example, Gen. 16:7-14; 22:11-18; Ex. 14:19-20). Of course, the
reference in Exodus 23:20-21 to a special angel in whom God's name dwelt served
as the basis for later Jewish religious concepts. Since we are interested in
the role of images of great angels in sources reflecting the later stages of
the development of ancient Jewish religion rather than the early stages of the
formation of such concepts, we should turn to texts containing information
about Judaism in the period after the captivity. ("The Great Angels in
Ancient Judaism")
...
It would not
be unreasonable to suppose that the texts of the Books of the prophets Ezekiel
and Daniel ... influenced the formation of later legends about the great
angels. The texts in Ezekiel 1:26-28; 8:2-4 and Dan. 7:9-14; 10:2-9.
...
Certainly,
the description of the ascended Christ in John’s Revelation 1:12-20 echoes in
some detail the image in Dan. 10:2-9, but in later times, the way Christians
have adapted the terminology and imagery of Daniel 10 does not give us any idea
in what status the figure in the prophecy in question should be perceived.
Things are somewhat
better, however, with the depiction of the archangel Michael, whom the author
of Daniel's prophecy first mentions in 10:13-21 as "one of the first
princes" (v. 13). This angel is singled out as a servant of God who
carries out his commands (v. 21). Then in 12:1, he is presented as "a
great prince who stands for the children of your people [Israel]," and the
reader is told that Michael will "rise up" at the end of time, which
obviously signifies his important role in the final salvation of the elect.
...
It is likely
that the character represented by the phrase "as if the Son of Man"
in Dan. 7:13-14 was also conceived by the author of the prophecy as an image of
a great angel, perhaps Michael, although this is only an assumption with which
many might disagree. Nevertheless, whether we accept this figure as a heavenly
being or as a metaphorical description of one of the "saints of the Most
High" (7:27), in any case, we are dealing with terminology and imagery
associated with the concept of divine mediation in Dan. 7:9-14. In this text,
we find a description of a character to whom "power, glory and kingship
have been given, so that all nations, tribes and languages will serve him; his
dominion is an everlasting dominion" (7:14). Moreover, it should be noted
that this figure is endowed with his status by the will of God, which implies
the very manner in which he rules the world on behalf of God, i.e. as God's
vizier or chief mediator.
It is not my
intention to discuss further the character in Dan. 7:13-14, but I would like to
note that the description of this figure serves as evidence that the ancient
Jews in Daniel's time saw nothing wrong with the existence of some important
figure appointed by God to be the chief mediator, and such an appointment did
not threaten the veneration of the one God.
Thus, we can
find indications of an emerging interest in heavenly beings likened to God in
various ways in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel. Especially in the
prophecy of Daniel, the concept of divine mediation seems to find its most
vivid expression, and the image of Michael is perhaps perceived as and
important and chief mediator between God and men. ("The Great Angels in
the Books of Ezekiel and Daniel")
...
For example,
we can find some references to Michael, where this angel is endowed with the
qualities and qualities in question. Thus, in the Second Book of Enoch, Michael
is called archistrategos (a transcription of the Greek word meaning 'commander
in chief') of God (22:6; 33:10; 71:28; 72:5). Michael is given a similar title
as many times in the Greek text of Abraham's Version A (e.g., 1:4; 2:2-12), in
the Greek text of the Third Book of Baruch (11:6), and possibly in the
Apocrypha of Joseph and Aseneth (14:4-7). E. P. Sanders is certainly correct in
arguing that the term is derived from the title that the Greek version of the
Old Testament applies to a character who appears in Joshua 5:13-15 and who
called himself "the leader of the [heavenly] host of the Lord."
In the
Scroll of War ("War of the sons of light against the sons of
darkness"; 1QM) from Qumran, the event of the eschatological deliverance
of the elect includes both the overthrow of "the wicked power" and
the "help forever" given to the redeemed people "by the power of
a mighty angel, for the leading of Michael", "the leading of Michael,
and the power of Israel over all flesh will exalt among the divine (powers) " (1QM 17:6-8).
The
reference to Michael in connection with the eschatological deliverance of the
righteous serves as a parallel to the text in Dan. 12:1-4 and this motif should
also be seen in the light of the evidence in 1QM 13:10, which refers to the
'Prince of Light' appointed by God to come to the aid of the elect on the last
day, and this character should perhaps be identified with Michael.
In all these
sources, Michael is distinguished from all the servants of God, being endowed
with a special status in the heavenly hierarchy. From the reviewed evidence it
becomes clear that the concept of Michael's special role was widely developed
in ancient Judaism, and this angel served as an expression of the idea of
divine mediation, according to which a special servant of God was regarded as
elevated to a position of being close to God. In my opinion, the motif of
bestowing the title of "commander-in-chief" on Michael, as well as
the link between the triumph of the elect and the ascent of Michael, are
manifestations of the concept in question. ("The Image of Michael in Other
Sources")."
A biblical
scholar Dmitri Tzolin echoes Hurtado by showing how Michael came to be called
Metatron, who was perceived by some Jews as the future Messiah, according to
the revelations of Daniel. Tsolin does this in his study "THEOPHANY AND
HER INTERPRETATION IN TARGUM. The Concept of the Divine Word (מימרא)":
"Let us
now turn to the texts of the Tanakh (Old Testament) which mention the Angel of
the Lord. This unique Person (מלאך יהוה) represents God in other Tanakh texts
as well. In Ex.14:19, the "Angel of God" (מלאך אלהים) is identified
with the "pillar of fire," that is, the Lord Himself (יהוה),
Ex.13:21. The angel will lead Israel into the promised land, He must be obeyed
"for My name is in Him" (שמי בקרבו - literally: "My name is in
His interior"), He will smite the nations of Canaan (Ex.23:20-23).
Moses was
not embarrassed by this, but when the people sinned by idolatry at Sinai, and
God said that He would not go with the people, but would send His angel, both
the people and Moses were embarrassed (Ex.33:2-5,15-16). Obviously, the latter
is referring to an ordinary angel, not one who was the personification of God's
Presence. The "angel of His face" (מלאך פנים), who "saved
them," that is, the Israelites, is also spoken of by the prophet Isaiah
(Is.63:9).
Concerning
the text of Ex. 23:21, which contains the mysterious words "My name is in
Him", the Midrash (Jewish homiletic commentaries) contains many different
interpretations. Thus, the Midrash of Tanḥuma (1:6), telling of the death of
Moses, shows how exactly G-d gave this angel (in the Talmud he is called
Metatron, from the Greek μετα θρονος - "standing by the throne [of
God]") His name: "When the power (of Moses) began to wane before his
death, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'Who [now] will lift up the people
from evil works? Who will rise up for Israel in the hour of My wrath? And who
will rise up in war for My sons? Who will ask for mercy for them, in the hour
when they have sinned before Me? And Metatron agreed and came and fell not his
face... And he turned [God] to the ministering angels, and calling Metatron, he
said to him, "I give you My name (בשמי קראתיך שמך) instead of your
name," for it is said, "My name is in Him."
In this
passage, there is a marked parallel between the image of Moses and Metatron:
He, like Moses, will call upon the people to turn from sin; Metatron will lead
the people in wars against their enemies; He will intercede with the Most High
for Israel. It is appropriate to recall here that in Jewish tradition a
parallel is often drawn between Moses as the first saviour and the Messiah as
the second saviour (Midrash Kogelet Rabba, which quotes Rabbi Berehya in the
name of Rabbi Yitzhak, 3rd century). In fact, Metatron here appears as a second
Savior, however, not yet realizing complete deliverance, but only leading the
people to it. It is interesting to pay attention to the function of the
intercessor, which Metatron will perform before the Lord on behalf of the
people: the same is said about Jesus as the Messiah, that He is the intercessor
of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15).
...
The Talmud
sometimes describes Metatron as a certain special Person, exalted above all
creatures. He has the right to sit on the throne of God, while the other angels
must stand (Hagigah 15a). The Talmud recounts Rabbi Idit's answer to a question
from an apostate regarding the text of Exodus 24:1, wherein the Lord tells him
to sit on God's throne above all creations (Haggah 15). 24:1, where God
commands Moses to "ascend to the Lord". How could God command Moses
to ascend to the Lord? Why didn't He say that Moses should ascend to Him? Rabbi
Idit answers that what is meant here is Metatron, who bears the same name as
the Lord [a distorted interpretation of the phrase "My name is in
him"; note admin]. In doing so, the rabbi quotes the text of Exodus 23:21.
23:21. Midrash Yalkut Shimoni (44) says that the light emanating from Metatron
surpasses the radiance of the other celestial beings, and no angel does
anything without His permission; some of the radiance from the heavenly throne
has been transferred to Him, and He knows all the Father's secret decisions. He
is the ruler of the Jews before the Lord (Tanhuma:1:6), the High Priest in the
heavenly temple (Bemidbar Rabba 12:15).
...
Metatron is
also identified with Michael in the Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan (aka Targum Jerushalmi
I) on the text of Ex. 24:1. Here God commands Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and
the seventy elders of Israel to go up into the mountain and worship the Lord
"from afar": "And Michael, the Prince of Wisdom, said unto Moses on the seventh day of the month, Go up unto
the Lord thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy elders of
Israel". But according to other sources (see above), Metatron was there on
the mountain.
The notion that
Michael and the Messiah as one and the same Person is found even among the
Qumran scrolls. In a work called "The War of the Sons of Light against the
Sons of Darkness" (2nd century BCE. ) there is a passage talking about the
victory of the "sons of light", which Messiah (Michael) gives them: "And
he will send eternal aid to the inheritance, [which] he redeemed by the power
of an angel, [whom] he made glorious, to rule in eternal light, Michael, [to]
give light in joy to all Israel, peace and blessing to the inheritance of God,
[to] raise up among the gods (pagan) the reign of Michael and the power of
Israel over all flesh (XVII, 5-9). This is how the Messianic kingdom is
described, with Michael the ruler at the head of Israel."
(http://esxatos.com/colin-teofaniya-i-ee-interpretaciya-v-targumah)
And here is
what one Jewish rabbi writes:
"The
former chief Rabbi of Stockholm, Professor Gottlieb Klein, in a work published
in 1898, explains the main features of Metatron in the style of Jewish
literature:
"Metatron
is the closest person to God - the one who serves Him. On the one hand, he is
God's messenger, His trusted person; on the other hand, he is Israel's
representative before God... Metatron is also known as Sar ha-Panim - "The
Prince of His Face", or simply as "The Prince", and he sits in
the innermost rest of God (penim)." (R. Santala. Messiah in the Old
Testament. St. Petersburg. "Bible for All", 1995)".
I.Tantlevsky
in his work "Melchizedek and Metatron in Jewish mystical-apocalyptic
tradition", also makes obvious correlations:
"In the
Testaments of the twelve patriarchs the angel of peace (άγγελος της ειρήνης)
guides Israel and protects it from Beliar (Belial = Satan) and his spirits and
from the kingdom of the enemies of the Jews 211 ; he acts as intercessor for
Israel before God (Testament of Dan 6:2 212 ) and in all probability is
identified with the archangel Michael (cf. Testament of Levi 5:5-6) 213 .
Perhaps the "angel of peace" in Prayer of Enosh (4QJ369) 1, 1:10 and
2:92 1 4 may also be identified with Michael, the guardian angel of Israel engaged
in an eschatological battle with Belial and his forces215 מלאך שלום
Designation. "angel of peace" may imply that, among other things, he
protects שלם Shalem, i.e. Jerusalem, the city of peace. (42pc).
...
In the Jewish
tradition, Metatron appears in two different "hypostases": 1) as a
heavenly angel, consubstantial with the world or even created before creation,
as the "prince of peace"; 2) as Enoch, who ascended into heaven and
became an Archangel. The latter tradition goes back ultimately to Gen. 5:24
(cf. Jerusalem Targum ad 10s.). It is not reflected in the Talmud and the most
important Midrash, and is presented primarily in the Sefer Hechalot, the
"Book of Heavenly Palaces," offered to our attention, although even
this book contains material relevant to the concept of the primordial
Metashchon (cf., for example, Ch. 9-13). As the original angel, he is
designated as Metatron Rabba, i.e. "the great Metatron". The
primordial Metatron, identified with Yaho'el, is attributed a number of
specific functions of the Archangel Michael, as reflected in certain passages
of Hechalot literature... (p. 131)"
Interestingly,
the writings of a versatile, educated Jewish believer named Philo from the
famous city of Alexandria, his biblical and philosophical studies concerning
Michael, whom Philo also called Logos (Memra - Word) appeared just before
the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. This will be discussed
in the next part of the article...
Part 4. "Word" in the Tanakh, "Memra" in the Targums, and
"Logos" in Philo
"In
Genesis chapter 1, "God said" is repeated over 10 times. All these
words of God John [the apostle] encapsulates in a single, great, living and
personal 'Word'. The Messiah is the Word, in whom the word of God dwells and
from whom the word of God proceeds, just as He is Wisdom, for in Him the wisdom
of God dwells and through Him speaks (Luke 11:49; 1 Cor. 1:24,30; Eph. 3:10).
The Word of God and the wisdom of God were already beginning to be understood in
the Old Testament [Tanakh] as a person [rather personified; author's note], as
seen in the following places: of the Word, Ps. 32:4,6; 106:16-20; 118:89-105;
147:4, 7; and of wisdom, Job. 28:12ff.; Proverbs ch. 8 and 9, and also in the
apocryphal books: the book of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon. See Proverbs 8:
22ff. Wisdom was created first of all, from eternity; it was present when God
built the mountains and prepared heaven, etc.
In the
Chaldean translations of the Old Testament, the so-called Targums, the
expression Memra', i.e. the Word of God, is often found in the places where the
Hebrew text says Jehovah [the God's name, a Hebrew tetragram], especially in
those cases where Jehovah reveals Himself to His people or speaks to them.
Thus, for example, according to the Aramaic translation, "the Word of
God" spoke to Adam in paradise; "the Word of the Lord" spoke to
Abraham, gave the law at Sinai, etc.; in Gen. 19:24 says that "the Word of
Jehovah sent down fire and sulphur from Jehovah upon Sodom." One of these
Chaldean translations (Targum Jonathan) says in Isaiah 45:18,22,25: "Thus
says Jehovah ... if you turn to My Word, you will be saved". In Jehovah's
Word, all the seed of Israel will be justified and glorified. When in Gen.
31:13 the angel of Jehovah tells Jacob that He is the God to whom Jacob made
his vow in Bethel, the Onkelos Targum, another Chaldean translation, says that
Jacob made his vow to Jehovah's Word: "if the Word of Jehovah be made my
help, the Word of Jehovah shall be my God" (Gen. 28:20ff.). These passages
show that a certain distinction between Jehovah and His Word, which is regarded
as a person - "the Angel of the Lord" or "the Angel of the
Union" - was becoming clearer and clearer in the minds of Old Testament
people, until finally the Word Himself became incarnate and pointed to Himself
as the Wisdom of God (Luke. 11:49), saying, "I am the way, the truth, and
the life ... whoever has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:6,9)."
(Nyström's Bible Dictionary, The Word)
"A godhead,
identical with the material world, is not the Godhead; a logos, identical with
irrational matter, is not the Logos. To explain the agreement of cognitive
reason with cognizable nature, the Stoics dogmatically affirm the indifferent
identity of the one and the other, contrary to the apparent distinction.
Reality, as it exists, is not identical with our concepts, just as it is not
identical with our sense perceptions and perceptions. The criterion of true
knowledge can consist neither in sensuality nor in reason. From here was one
step towards a philosophy of faith which sought the source of reliable gnosis
(knowledge) in revelation. In this religious philosophy (which developed mainly
in Alexandria, where Western philosophical doctrines met the religious ideas of
the East) the most important was the system of Philo the Jew (at the beginning
of our era), who tried to combine the results of Greek speculation with the
Mosaic law and the revelation of the Old Testament.
The concept of Logos, borrowed [or rather
synchronized; note of the author] from the Stoics, but modified in the
interests of religious theism, served to solve this problem... The creation,
the providence, the revelation of the Godhead presupposes a series of mediating
agents, powers and beginnings: in this quality are the ideas of Plato, the
λογοι σπερματικοί of the Stoics, the angels of the Hebrews and the demons of
the Hellenes. They appear then as properties - emanations of the Deity itself,
then as separate personal intermediaries from it (angels), then finally as physical
energies (the logos of the Stoics), acting in the world and being in it. All
these powers (δυνάμεις) are combined in the Logos who mediates between God and
the world. Philo's Logos is:
1) the power
and mind of the Godhead Himself, His direct emanation, which encapsulates the
totality of all other powers; 2) the idea of the world, which encapsulates the
totality of the creative first-images of creation (the ideal plan of creation);
3) The creative energy which creates and animates the world in the manner of
the Logos of the Stoics, manifesting itself in all its manifold forms and
kinds; 4) Finally, for all sentient beings sharing in the Logos, the mediator
of revelation, who sometimes appears as a personal mediator, the supreme
'angel' [ARCHANGEL] of God. Philo also calls him 'the high priest', 'the
only-begotten Son of God' or 'the
second god' in contrast to the first, unborn Deity and the 'third god', the
created world in which he is incarnated. Just as human thought is the inner
unspoken word (λόγος ενδιάθετος), distinct from the spoken word (λόγος
προφορικός) and together identical with it, so the divine Word is at the same
time identical with the world (as its intelligible essence) and distinct from
it (as an idea). In the same way the relation of the Logos to the individual
human soul is defined: he is different from it, although he imparts to it life,
power, reasonableness and knowledge, and at the same time individual righteous
souls can resemble him, as if embodying him in themselves. Not only that: they
can, through ecstasy, attain direct communion with the Divine (such are the
prophets).
Philo ends
the pre-Christian period of the history of the Logos... As the universal
creative mind, the Logos is Philo's highest concept of philosophy and together
the key to understanding the revelation of the Old Testament. Testament. In
this sense the teaching of Philo, in connection with other peculiarities of his
philosophy, has had a great influence on Christian thought..." (Dictionary
of the Encyclopaedia of the Bible. (Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic
Dictionary, Logos)
"The
use of the Greek term Logos (as equivalent to the Aramaic Memra) has led many
scholars to look for its roots in Plato's Logos as well as in the writings of
the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (1st century B.C.). In Plato's
philosophy there is a doctrine of the Logos resembling the Targumian Memra and
the Logos of John, but we can hardly speak of an influence of Platonism: it is
too obvious that this conception derives from the Old Testament teaching about
the Word of God on the one hand; Plato's doctrine of the Logos derives from his
idea of God as the first motor of the universe and the presence of His rational
origin (logos) in all the things of the world created by Him, on the other.
Undoubtedly there is a similarity between these two concepts, but this
similarity does not imply borrowing one from the other (at least the
methodology of the historical analysis of the sources does not allow us to draw
such a conclusion).
(On the
possible relationship of Philo and his doctrine of the Logos to the Targumian
Memra (Aram. "word"), the Qumran communities and their expectation of
the coming of Messiah-Michael, see here: https://vk.com/wall-189469430_2532) This similarity (but not identity!) in understanding God as transcendent
but revealing Himself in the mediator-Logos in Judaism and ancient philosophy
led to the syncretic teaching of Philo of Alexandria, in which the Logos
appears as a kind of 'intermediate' deity connecting the material world with
the Supreme." (Dmitri Tzolin, "THEOPHANY AND HER INTERPRETATION IN
TARGUM. The Concept of the Divine Word (מימרא)")
"...Scholars
are well aware of how often (over 1400 times!) Philo [Alexandrian: Jewish
theologian (c. 25 B.C. - c. 50 A.D.); admin] mentions the term 'logos' in the
extant writings, and how difficult it is to systematise the meanings he puts
into the word. In his thought one can catch a bold attempt to combine the
tradition of Jewish wisdom with the philosophical concepts of the Platonists
and Stoics for the sake of expounding the basic Jewish religious tenets in a
way that is understandable and accessible to readers familiar with the
philosophical culture of the time. Certainly, in some texts behind Philo's
expressions of thought one can easily detect something resembling a belief in
the Logos as a truly mediating being, a lesser deity, through whom God
exercises his connection with the world. Indeed, in Questions and Answers on
Genesis 2.62, Philo calls the Logos a 'second god' (ton deuteron theon) and
argues that the 'God' in whose image Adam was created, according to Genesis
1:27, is in fact the Logos, whose likeness is the rational part of the human
soul. According to Philo, it is impossible to think of anything earthly as a
direct image of God Himself. In the Questions and Answers in Exodus 2.13,
according to Philo, the Logos seems to be identified with the 'angel' sent by
God to Israel during the wanderings in the desert (referring to the account in
Exodus 23:20-21), and in this text Philo calls the Logos 'mediator' (mesites).
Philo also
uses a wide range of other exalted epithets to characterise the Logos:
"the firstborn" (protogonon), "the archangel", "the
Name of God" (On the Mixture of Languages 146), "ruler of the world
and chief administrator" (kybernetes kai oikonomos, see Questions and
Answers on Genesis 4.110-11). In this author a complete set of divine
attributes can be found, which we will give, beginning with the most important
and then in descending order of importance: "creative power" (he
poietike), "royal power" (he basilike), "gracious power" (he
hileos), then the two "legislative" powers (nomothetike) by which God
prescribes or prohibits any action; and over all these concepts is the
"divine Word" (theios logos), the chief of God's "powers"
(dynameis; cf. , for example, On Fleeing and Finding 94-105, which contains a
discussion of "powers" in connection with Old Testament images of
cities in which to find refuge [94-99, 103-105], as well as the objects that
fill the tabernacle of Moses [100-102]).[25]
In Philo's
essay On the Mixture of Tongues one finds a rather lengthy discussion of the
concept of God as a heavenly ruler who surrounds himself with innumerable
"powers" whom he uses in his governance of the created world
(168-175). Philo also mentions angels in the service of these heavenly powers.
Thus, all these hosts of heavenly beings constitute a kind of "army"
with its heavenly "contingent" and military "ranks". Here
we see with clarity an aspect of religious consciousness according to which
God's government of the world appears as a heavenly prototype of the ancient
imperial court, in which God rules as 'King'. On the basis of other evidence
found in the texts of Philo (for example, On the mixture of tongues 146, where
the "original Logos" is spoken of as "the elder among the angels,
a kind of ruler", ton angelon presbytaton, hos an archangelon), we may
conclude that Philo interpreted the figure of the divine Logos as the divine
vizier or chief governor in the heavenly assembly. In On Escape and Acquisition
101-102, Philo likens the connection of the Logos with the five principal
'powers' to the charioteer directing the reins of his horses, where God himself
as master sits in the chariot and gives instructions to his charioteer
directing the 'reins of the universe'..." (Larry Hartado, quoted from
"Celestial Mediators. The Jewish Origins of Early Christology,"
Logos: https://iknigi.net/avtor-sbornik-statey/110621-nebesn. )
In Philo,
"The Word (Logos) is defined as the mind of God, the idea of all ideas,
the image of the Godhead, the firstborn son of God, the second God
("JeoV", i.e., Greek, θεός. - as opposed to "o JeoV"/ ὁ
θεός); it is, furthermore, the first image of the universe, the world-creating
power, the soul putting on the body of the world; finally, it is the supreme archangel, mediator, vicar of God, the royal
high priest...
In the Bible,
the "word" of God is seen as an independently acting and
self-existing force[32]; later in Judaism these ideas were developed in the
doctrine of the divine Word who created the world, the divine chariot throne
with cherubim, the divine radiance and shekinah, in the doctrine of the names
of God and angels. Philo calls Logos "archangel
with many names", "taxiarch" (head of God's army), "name of
God", "heavenly Adam"[33], "word of the eternal God",
"high priest", redeemer of sins, mediator and intercessor before God
for men[34]. Philo translates Gen. 1:27 as "made man in the image of
God", and concludes from this that there was an image of God that is the
basic type of all things (Plato's archetypal idea), a seal that lies on all
things. The Logos is a shadow cast from God; it has the outlines but not the
blinding light of God himself."[1] (Wikipedia, Philo of Alexandria, On the
Logos)
"In the
same spirit in which the rabbis call the archangel
Michael (Metatron) the commander of the heavenly host, Philo also says:
'The Father, the creator of the universe, has given the archangel and the most ancient Logos ("word") the
advantage of standing at the threshold separating creation from the Creator and
serving as mediator between immortal Godhead and mortal man, the archangel
acting as ambassador from ruler to subject." (Wikipedia, Philo of
Alexandria, Angelology)
So, it is
clearly seen that before the emergence of Christianity and the arrival of the
promised Messiah, the interest in the chief Son of God grew enormously, which
paved the way for further revelations and the formation of Christian teaching,
which became the apogee of the revelations of God, and that this teaching could
be perceived by various representatives of Judaism, and then by the Greeks
(Hellenes), Romans and other nations.
In the next
part of this article we shall turn our attention to the way in which God,
through the Christian New Testament writers, gave a complete pure doctrine of
the firstborn Son, the promised Messiah, and how it echoes what was said about
Michael, the special angel of God, in the Tanakh (and particularly in the book
of Daniel) and partly in the Jewish writings of the second temple era...
Part 5. New Testament Christian Writers
"...Philo
[of Alexandria] calls the Logos 'the image of God' ... and 'the original Son'
(see, for example, On Agriculture, 51). ... Philo sometimes speaks of "two
gods", and in one place refers to the Logos as "the second God [god]"
(Questions on Genesis, 2.62). For Philo, however, there is a difference between
"God" and "one of the gods" (in Greek between o theos -
that is, God, with a definite article, and theos - that is, simply "god",
without the article). The logos is the latter.
As a divine
being separate from God, the Logos obviously resembles the Angel of the Lord
already discussed at the beginning of this chapter. Philo sometimes explicitly
identifies the Logos with the Angel of the Lord [as respectively with
'Archangel' elsewhere, author's note] (see, for example, On the Change of
Names, 87, On Dreams, 1.239)." (Ehrman Barth D., "How Jesus Became
God", p.18, source: https://www.litmir.me/br/?b=558072&p=12)
As history
shows, the term "Logos" (Word) as one of the biblical names or titles
of the original Son of God was first made more or less popular (and a more or
less formalised teaching) among educated and/or religious Jews, Greeks and
Romans by the Jewish theologian Philo of Alexandria, just before the coming of
Jesus Christ.
One of the
closest disciples of Jesus, the Apostle John, at the end of the first century, apparently
familiar with the biblical interpretations and expressions of Philo, also uses
the term Logos in his Gospel, just like Philo (and like him using the word
"theos" (a god) without the definite article in one sentence (John
1:1) to refer to the Logos, but to the
God - the concept of "theos" with an article), that their teacher and
master Jesus Christ was not only human (without sin), but before that he had
been the unique heavenly son of God, the first and closest one (John 1:1-18).
(For more on
the use of the word "theos", please see "The Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Light of the Whole Scripture
(Arguments of Different Sides, the Comparison and Analysis)", in John 1:1.)
John,
perhaps quite consciously, uses the expression "the only-begotten Son (in
earlier manuscripts it is not "son" but "god"), who is in the
bosom of the Father" (John 1:18 KJV), or translating in a more Hebrew
language (as a Hebrew idiom) "who is at the Father’s side [or «chest»]" (NWT), that is the nearest
to the throne, thus indicating to his relatives and perpetrators Metatron (from
the Greek "nearest to the throne (God)"), familiar to them from the
literature of the second temple. Here is how this text, for example, is
rendered in other (russian) translations:
"...the
only Son of God, the one who sits beside the Father, brought us the message of
God." (Cовременный перевод WBTC)
"...the only Son who dwells beside the
Father - He has revealed Him to us." (Современный перевод РБО)
"...His
only Son who is at the Father's heart has revealed Him to us" (Новый
русский перевод)
In his
gospel, John also quotes interesting words from Jesus himself:
"Marvel
not at this: for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and
those who have done good will come forth to
the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28,29)
Here Jesus
speaks to the people in familiar words from their sacred scripture, the Tanakh
(the so-called "Old Testament"), quoting from Daniel's prophecy about
the head of the heavenly host, who was to become a "great leader"
(Hebrew Sar haGadol: analogous to the expression or title "Sar haSarim"
(Dan.8:25), "king of kings", respectively "lord of lords")
and reign in the last days, beginning the resurrection and judgment:
"And at
that time shall Michael arise, a
prince [variants: leader, chief, king]
great, standing for the children of
thy people; and there shall come a time of trouble, such as has not been seen
since the time when men existed, until this time; but all shall be saved at that time from thy people,
who are found written in the book. And
many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, others to everlasting contempt and shame."
(Dan.12:1,2)
As can be
seen, Jesus himself applied to himself those passages of Scripture which
referred to the archangel Michael, the patron saint of Israel and the heavenly
ruler of that nation (the heavenly 'royal high priest'). Thus it becomes clear
why he told the Jews that he was older even than their ancient forefather
Abraham: " Most truly I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John
8:58).
One of
Jesus' most learned disciples, the Apostle Paul, also wrote about this:
"We
tell you this by the word of Jehovah: we who live, who shall live to see the
presence [or 'coming'] of the Lord, shall in no way precede those who have
fallen asleep to death, because the Lord himself will come down from heaven
with a call [or 'cry'], with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:15,16).
Here Paul,
like Jesus, is referring to "the word of Jehovah", i.e. the Tanakh
(the so-called "Old Testament"), and as seen in the text it is
Daniel's prophecy of Michael in chapter 12. (That this version of the
translation is more accurate in meaning and justified linguistically can be
seen here: https://vk.com/wall-189469430_1687, and here:
https://jwapologetica.blogspot.com/2019/04/blog-post_7.html#more).
The apostle
writes to those who commit to him about the coming of the Lord Jesus,
associating it with the resurrection and with the voice of the Archangel (just
as Jesus speaks of his voice waking "those who sleep in death"),
since Daniel writes that "in the last days" the Archangel Michael,
"the great leader", will "rise" (analogy: come) and the
resurrection and judgment will begin (see Dan.12:1,2). And since Michael is the
archangel, or "head of the host of God" ("archistratigus"),
he will accordingly, as the heavenly "general" of the army, with his
mighty voice and God's trumpet (only God's trumpet has the power to
"awaken" the dead... ) will awaken the sleeping military 'camp' from
its mortal sleep, in order, according to other Scripture texts, to lead his
soldiers into battle against the forces of darkness in a crucial battle
(compare how Jesse taught about Messiah-Michael: see Part 3 of this article).
This is also evident from the one word used by Paul:
κέλευσμα (G2752)
order, cry. This word has been used in a great variety of ways. It is the
commands given by the helmsman to the rowers and by the charioteer to his
horses. In relation to a naval or land battle, it is a battle cry. In many
places the word denotes a loud, commanding cry, often uttered in a state of
great agitation (Morris; Lightfoot, Notes; Air Force). In the Roman army, at
the sounding of the third trumpet, the herald, standing to the right of the
commander, asked the soldiers three times if they were ready for battle; and
the troops shouted loudly and excitedly, "We are ready!" (TJ, 106;
Jos., JW., 3.91-93). (1 Thessalonians chapter 4 - Bible - Linguistic
Commentary. Rogers: https://bible.by/rogers/59/4/)
As can be
seen, the "New Testament" writers make explicit identifications of
the archangel Michael and the Messiah of God, based on the Tanakh (the
so-called "Old Testament") and relevant Jewish writings of the second
temple era, including the famous biblical scholar Philo of Alexandria. This is
especially evident in the letter to the Hebrews (see below), and partly in the
book of Revelation, where in the first chapter Jesus Christ appears to the
Apostle John in a vision by description exactly as (in detail) the prophet
Daniel described the appearance of Michael in chapter 10 of his book (see the
article "Michael's appearance to Daniel and the vision of Christ in the first
chapter of Revelation" for details).
The author
of the letter to the Hebrews (probably ap. Paul) uses the same expressions and
juxtapositions in it as Philo of Alexandria did before him in his teaching on
the Logos. Here are some of them:
- the firstborn
son (1:6)
- the image
of God (1:3)
- the
heavenly, royal high priest (see for example chapter 8)
- a mediator
in creation and dealings with people (cf. 1:2 and 9:15)
(see
additionally here: https://vk.com/wall-189469430_1649)
The apostle
John also calls Jesus "the mediator", as does Philo, saying that
"through" the Logos,
"the only begotten Son (God)", the eternal God created the world
(John 1:3), and "revealed Himself" to men. Philo, however, was not
told how the Logos would become the Saviour and fully reveal God to men. It was
important for Philo to show who this Logos, the eldest son of God, the mediator
and archangel, the intercessor before God and the vicar of God, in his heavenly
(!) origin and action. And he did this just before the Logos came to earth....
(For more
information and proof that Christ is the Archangel Michael, please see the
article "Who is the Archangel Michael?").
Well, in the
next part of this article, we will provide information about the fact that
there was an understanding of these truths of Scripture about the main
messenger and the Son of God among the early Christian believers and
theologians, as well as among other generations of Christians, as for example,
during the Reformation, and in our time ...
Part 6. The Early Church and Successive Generations
So, in the
previous part of the article, it was shown that the Christian writers of the
New Testament identified, directly or indirectly, the archangel Michael with
the only begotten son of God, the Logos, who became Jesus Christ; and a special
contribution to the doctrine of the Archangel-Logos, the unique heavenly son of
God, right before the rise of Christianity was made by the Jew Philo of
Alexandria (who wrote in Greek), whom scholars and theologians accordingly call
"the forerunner of Christianity" (it is seen that he had his own
errors and that his texts are not as canonical as those of the Bible). However,
we would like to point out that Philo does not explicitly write that the Logos
is the Messiah (Christ, in Greek). Nevertheless, it is clear in his writings
that he in one way or another identifies him with the Messiah. The same is true
of the writers of the New Testament: nowhere in it is it explicitly stated that
Jesus Christ is the archangel Michael, or that the Logos is Michael. However,
as has been variously shown, they clearly identify, or draw parallels in
relation to Christ and Michael (as does Jesus himself), just as some Jewish
teachers and groups of the second temple era, based on the Tanakh ("Old
Testament"), identified Michael, Metatron with the Messiah in one way or
another.
In the
Bible, and the New Testament in particular, the Messiah is far from being
explicitly written one way or the other. Christ has many descriptive names and
images that reveal different facets of his mission, his role, in God's plan.
And the text does not always state explicitly that it is about the Messiah,
about Jesus. However, God, as a wise author, gives hints, parallels,
connections, references so that the researchers of his scriptures in general
could see the "picture" and its details in context, so to speak, and
comprehend "the sacred mysteries of the kingdom of God" (Mark 4:11).
Although (!)the fullness of revelation(!) had already been given by God in the
Christian Scriptures (the so-called "New Testament", creating in
unity with the Tanakh ("Old Testament") a complete and harmonious
collection of divine books, which came to be called the "Bible"),
(!)the fullness of explanation(!) or interpretation of the divine did not have
to come immediately. But Scripture repeatedly tells us that it is "in the
last days", shortly before Christ removes the earthly authorities and
establishes God's kingdom on earth, that the light of the truth of God's
Scripture will be poured out across the planet, on an extraordinary scale, and
a full explanation of all Scripture will be given, which should spread across
the earth, and especially one of the most mysterious and important books of the
Bible - the prophet Daniel's book:
"But
thou, O Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the time of
the end. Many will go here and there [i.e. scrutinize all the Scriptures], and
true knowledge will multiply" (Daniel 12:4).
It is in the
texts of this prophet that the mysterious and important figure of the archangel
Michael is first explicitly mentioned and the truth about him, as well as some
other mysteries, is to be fully revealed and proclaimed throughout the earth at
the "time of the end", shortly before the destruction of the earthly
kingdoms and the coming of Messianic rule, resurrection and judgment (see Dan.12:1,2).
Judging from Scripture, history and the facts, this is the case: that is,
prophecy is coming true in these days, the "days of the end" of this
sinful world order. Accordingly, the teaching or explanation of the truth of
Michael the Logos reaches its fullness and climax precisely in our own time.
Does this mean that Christians did not know at all that the Logos was this same
Michael? Maybe the apostles and the first Christians from the Jews knew it in
part (as one can see from the sequence of the religious history of the second
temple epoch and the evident identification of Michael and Christ in the New
Testament), but the following generations and the Christians from the Gentiles
did not know it any more?! …For judging (at first sight) from the later history
of so-called Christianity and modern so to speak "traditional"
Christianity, the doctrine that the Logos is the archangel Michael is not
accepted or proclaimed by them...?!
Next, we
will look at a fuller "picture" of this topic and issues, examining
and analysing the available data and facts which are sometimes ignored, or not
fully covered, by representatives of the "traditional" churches.
However, just as the prophecy of Daniel says, there is a rapidly increasing
number of Christians these days who proclaim around the world that
"Michael has risen up" to defend those who believe in him as the
Messiah of God's kingdom (to bring order on the whole earth and to do God's
wonderful will for the dead and all mankind in general (see Dan.12:1, 4...),
just as it says: "And he said: "Go, Daniel, because these words have been kept secret and sealed
until the time of the end. Many will be purified,
persuaded and melted away. The wicked will do wickedly, and none of the
wicked will understand, but the prudent will
understand."..." (Dan.12:9,10).
So,
"The
idea of identifying Jesus Christ with the archangel Michael has very ancient
roots. St. Epiphanius of Cyprus wrote, that according to the Judeo-Christian
beliefs of the Ebionites, Christ is "one of the archangels reigning over
the angels and over all the works of the Almighty" ("Panarion",
XXX, 16, 4).
A similar
view is expressed in the apocryphal early Christian monument
"Clementines", where Christ is "the first of the
archangels" ("Recognitions", II, 42).
Such an
identification is not at all accidental: in the literature of the Second Temple
period, the archangel Michael is most commonly described as the most exalted of
the archangels [according to the Tanakh and NT as the only archangel saint,
literally from the Greek, the head over the angels (saints); note the author of
the external article]. He also acts as protector and guardian of Israel, leader
of the heavenly host, intercessor and high priest of the heavenly sanctuary
/Darrel D. Hannah. Michael and Christ: Michael Traditions and Angel Christology
in Early Christianity. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999. P. 25-75.
In a scientific
community, the idea of identification of early Christians Christ with the
archangel ("angelic Christology") was present up to the middle of the
20th century[29]. [but it continues to be present; note of the author of the
external article]» ("The Jewish roots of "high christology".
Part II", A. Grigoryan).
Also, the
apostolic disciple and prominent theologian of the early church, Justin Martyr
(c. 100-165) clearly identified Christ with the archangel Michael, the head of
the heavenly host:
"But,
my friends," I continued, "I will give you another testimony from the
Scriptures to prove that as the beginning before all creatures, God begat of
Himself a certain intelligent power, which from the Holy Spirit is also called
the glory of the Lord, then Son, then wisdom, then angel, then god [theos
without the article], then lord and word; He Himself also calls Himself 'the
leader of the host'[! ], when He appeared in human form to Joshua (Nab. 5
:14)..." (Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew, chapter 61)
Compare:
"Christian tradition also identifies the following references to the
Archangel Michael's actions, which are not named by name:
...
- the
apparition to Joshua: 'and behold there stood a man before him, and in his hand
a naked sword' and he is further called the Leader of the host [!] of the Lord
(Nab. 5:13-15).
..."
(Wikipedia, Archangel Michael, the Old Testament)
And here is
what is given in the article "The divinity of Jesus Christ in the Light of the Whole Scripture
(Arguments of Different sides, a Comparison and Analysis)":
"What
is remarkable is the way in which this passage of Scripture [John 1:1] was
commented on by Origen, explaining the nuances of the Greek language. In his
work "Commentary on the Gospel of John" (Book II, Chapter II) he
wrote: "We also notice John's use of the article in these sentences. He
always thinks about what he is writing about and he is not unfamiliar with the
subtleties of the Greek language. He uses the article when the name
"God" refers to the Uncreated Cause, and omits it when the Logos is
called "god"... The God who is over everything is "God"
with the article... All except the One God become gods, reflecting His divine
essence. They cannot be called God, but only gods .... The true God, then, is
God [with the definite article] and those who came after are gods, images
reflecting His essence, His likeness."
Hardly
anyone would dare claim that the great third-century biblical scholar Origen of
Alexandria, who composed the colossal work Hexapla, did not know Greek well,
for Greek was his mother tongue. Certainly, someone can consider him a heretic,
but one cannot deny him his knowledge of the subtleties of the Greek language.
No less
interesting is the testimony of a contemporary of the Apostle John, Philo of
Alexandria, a representative of the Judeo-Alexandrian school of philosophy, who
knew Greek to perfection. It is known that many biblical scholars, especially
in the West, see a direct connection between Philo's Logos and John's Logos.
This, however, is another topic and deserves a separate consideration. We are
interested in the linguistic data which we can draw from Philo's writings.
According to Philo the Logos is the "image of God", the "eldest
and firstborn Son of God", the "second god" ("theos"
as opposed to "o theos"), the "royal High Priest", the
mediator between God and men [as well as the Archangel; note of the author]. It
is noteworthy that Philo always designates God Almighty as "o theos"
and Logos by the same word "theos", only without the article. We will
not go deep into the abstract-philosophical conception of the Logos, but we
will notice the obvious difference between "o theos" and "theos",
resulting in a difference of meanings.
It is also
curious that second-century apologists such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon
and Theophilus of Antioch in their writings referred to Christ as 'a god' ('theos'
without the article) and never as 'o theos'.
Indeed, no
one would deny that in the New Testament there are quite a few references to
God with no article. However, this circumstance does not allow for a mechanical
analogy with Jn. 1:1, because this Scripture differs from all the others in its
specificity. When Paul spoke in his epistles of the one true God, the Father,
he did not always use the article, because such a reference to God did not need
to be specific, God being one. But in the case of the Prologue, we find in the
same sentence a reference to two different persons in some connection with each
other, each named by the word "THEOS". One with the article, the
other without it. This must clearly have some linguistic significance in this
context. This is the nuance to which Origen drew attention." (article
subtitle: "John 1:1")
And what
does a historical analysis of Christian fine art (which became more or less
active in later centuries), for example painting and sculpture, show?
Often is the
Archangel Michael depicted as striking the ancient Serpent, the Dragon (see for
example Wikipedia: Archangel Michael, Iconography), sometimes the emphasis is
on the fact that Michael strikes him in the head.
Where do
these images and subject matter come from?
They are
based on at least two important texts in the Tanakh ("the Old
Testament") and the Christian Scriptures ("the New Testament")
relating to the Messiah of God and his mission...
One of these
is at the very beginning of the Bible, and is the main source of the story:
"And
the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art
cursed before all the cattle, and before all the beasts of the field; thou
shalt walk on thy womb, and shalt eat dust all the days of thy life; and I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
[lit. 'he'] shall smite thee in the head, and thou shalt sting him in the
heel." (Genesis 3:14,15)
And the
second is as follows:
"And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and
the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not stand, and
there was no more place for them in heaven. And the great dragon, the ancient
serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole universe, was cast
down to earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
And I heard
a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation and power and the kingdom of our
God and the power of his Christ have come, because the accuser of our brethren,
who slandered them before our God day and night, has been cast down.'"
(Revelation 12:7-10)
The first
text is the key text in the whole of the Scripture concerning salvation and the
Messiah (Christ) of God. It is Christ who is to strike the serpent in the head
and, importantly, it is clearly seen that even in later Christian art the
ancient heritage and evidence of how the early Christians (and some later ones)
understood the truth about the Archangel-Logos, Jesus Christ, is evident.
The second
text, however, clearly shows that Christ, the head of the angels according to
the "New Testament", is an archangel (Arch - head, chief, i.e. chief
over the angels), with his angels, who according to the prophecies of the
Tanakh wages war against the Serpent and his offspring (seed), and has the
power to overthrow him from heaven to earth, to finally strike him in the head -
destroying him completely. Compare it with another relevant text about the
Messiah from the Tanakh:
"The
Lord [in the original here is the four-lettered name of God, YHWH, in the
English manner "Jehovah"] said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, till
I make Your enemies Your footstool." (Psalm 109)
Yes, as can
be seen, the doctrine that the Logos, Christ is the same archangel Michael has
been consistently traced throughout history, and has been held by one or
another Christian group and individual theologians, in one way or another...
Some facts from the Reformation era and further Protestant history confirm this.
For example, here are the quotations given by the biblical scholar D. Lugansky
in an article of the same name on the subject:
"...The
Protestant theologian Calvin, in his commentary
on the book of Daniel says:
As we argued
before, Michael may mean an angel; but I support the view of those who identify
him with the person of Christ because it agrees with the fact that he is
represented as rising up to defend his chosen people.
Another
Protestant theologian and Scripture commentator, John Wesley, commenting on the
same biblical book writes:
Michael - Christ
- is the defender of the church, while all the princes of the earth forsake or
oppose it. John Wesley's commentary on Daniel 10:21.
The Geneva
Bible, thanks to the English Protestants, William Whittingham and his
assistants, appeared in 1560. This work is known for its marginal commentaries.
In commenting on Daniel chapter twelve, the
publishers reached the following conclusion:
"The
angel here notes two things, first that the church will be in great suffering
and difficulty at the time of Christ's coming and second that God will send an
angel to deliver her, whom he calls Michael, meaning Christ, who is proclaimed
to preach the gospel." ..." (article "Michael, the angel, the archangel and the archangels")
(see also
about M. Luther, Spurgeon, Bunyan and many others in the English Wikipedia
(Michael (archangel)), the quote in Russian can be read here: https://vk.com/wall-189469430_2432)
But in these
"last days" of the evil world order, according to the prophecies of
Daniel, millions of Christians carry the good news and proclaim that Jesus
Christ (the same archangel Michael, the Logos) "has risen" (see
Dan.12:1,4 and Matt.24:14) in defense of the faithful believers, to protect the
sincere believers and seekers of truth who want to live a God-pleasing life and
obey the true God, and soon he will crush the evil forces on earth, to smite
the main instigator and opponent, the "ancient Serpent" in the head
and establish eternal peace in heaven and earth, to the glory and will of his
Father and God. (For more on who these Christians are and why they teach and
proclaim so, see here: "Who is the Archangel Michael?")
The next
(final) part of this article will summarise and outline the main points and
facts about the topic of this study...
Part 7. Summary and Conclusion: Back to the Future 2 - From the Beginning to the End.
Summing up
the review and comparison of this article, I would like to draw your attention
again to the title of this study:
"Metatron-.
Michael-
Memra
(Logos)".
Just as any
object or person can be described by different names (or definitions), the same
has been shown in relation to the Messiah of God, about whom the collection of
divine books (known worldwide as the Bible) and more or less corresponding materials,
interpretations, history and culture of different, successive eras testify and
narrate.
Just as one
can consistently trace the beginning and development of a plot in a particular
work, so it is possible, as was partly shown in the article (and as will be
shown later), to trace the development and creation of the doctrine of God the
Messiah-Saviour in the history of the nation of Israel (which played an
important role in God's providence) and the world, and the reasons for this...
The Bible
tells us from the very beginning where and how our wonderful and diverse world,
life and humanity came to be and how humanity's problems and sorrows came to be
and how the Creator of the world and humanity will finally solve them, removing
all harm and even the memory of bad things and why He allowed all this to
happen...
The first
human couple, according to the revelations of God, being in paradise, could
enjoy fellowship with Him, cooperation and fulfilment of His good plan for the
earth and its inhabitants by multiplying and repopulating it. However, in Eden
(the original Garden of Eden) there was a rebellion by man, caused by a certain
intelligent creature called "the Serpent". By tempting the woman, it
promised her that she and her husband would become "like God" and
could determine for themselves, independently of Him, what was right and wrong (see
Genesis 3:4,5), and would not die, despite the Creator's explicit warning. This
turned out to be a lie.... Thus mankind, as represented by their forefathers,
lost their good relationship with their heavenly Father, paradise’s conditions,
and gained misery and mortality. God, however, in passing judgment on the main perpetrator of the
incident, spoke mysterious and reassuring words to mankind:
"And
the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art
cursed before all the cattle, and before all the beasts of the field; thou
shalt walk on thy womb, and shalt eat dust all the days of thy life; and I will
put enmity between thee and thy wife [woman], and between thy seed and her
seed; it [lit. 'he'] shall afflict [or 'sting'] thee in the head, and thou shalt
sting [or 'sting'] him in the heel." (Genesis 3:14,15)
Upon hearing
these words, the woman and her husband apparently understood that the deadly
harm caused by the Serpent's lie would somehow be undone by their descendant,
who would destroy the Enemy of humanity and truth, and restore the lost
paradise, life, and intimate relationship with the Creator. And, probably
having heeded these prophetic words of God, after these events and revelation,
Adam named his wife Eve (Hebrew: Hava), which translated means
"living", explaining, "for she became the mother of all living
ones" (Genesis 3:20).
The
scripture goes on to tell us that outside of Eden, the first couple became
parents for the first time, and the woman had her first offspring (seed). It is
likely, judging by the name the parents gave him (and how events unfolded with
the second child...), that they hoped that this was the offspring-saviour, the
promised "seed of the woman" promised by God: he was named "Cain",
from the verb "kana", which means "to acquire, create", as
Eve herself explained her choice of name: "I have acquired [or
"produced, created] human from Jehovah." (Genesis 4:1).
When they
had their second child (Abel), Cain had a high opinion of himself as one whom
God Himself said was the saviour and conqueror of the enemy, "the
serpent". Therefore, when both brothers brought an offering to God, and
the Creator accepted Abel's sacrifice favourably rather than Cain's, he became
very angry and subsequently even killed his brother (see Genesis chapter 4).
This meant that Cain was not the promised saving "seed"... One of the
woman's descendants was killed, the other (Cain) was punished by God and cast
out of the family. The question was, when and who would be this Saviour who
came according to the promise of God?
Then, the
first couple had a third child, Seth ("appointed; established;
approved," in the sense of a replacement or substitute: "God has
appointed me another descendant in place of Abel" (Genesis 4:25), but he
too, perhaps contrary to the parents' expectations, did not become the
"seed" that would strike the serpent in the head. People began to
multiply on the earth and time passed, but there was still no Saviour.... It became
obvious that he would not come immediately, and God's words did not say that he
would come soon...
The Egyptian
goddess and the Indian Krishna crushing the serpent's head
The Egyptian
goddess if from WILKINSON, vol. vi. Plate 42; Crishna from COLEMAN's Indian
Mythology, p. 34. 58
The growing
human family seems by many accounts to have passed on the Edenic promise of
God, this proto-gospel (from Greek "first good news" or the first
manifestation of good news from God) from generation to generation, thus it may
be interpreted differently by sinful descendants, modified and distorted,
giving rise to false religions, cults, myths, etc. (See for example, a book by
a scholar, linguist and religious scholar A.Hislop, "The Two Babylons",
Chapter II, Part II. Section V. Deification of the Child; Or here: https://vk.com/wall-189469430_857). However, the great Author of this promise saw to its preservation and
fulfilment. And next, we shall see a brief review...
...Seth had
one of his descendants, a man called Noah, during whose time evil and crime
multiplied on the earth (see Genesis chapter 6). This was so critical
(threatening to exterminate the entire human race and consequently the coming
of the saving "seed of the woman") that God decided to bring a flood
on the whole earth to remove the wickedness, and to save the human offspring.
Among all that generation only Noah (and his family) "found grace before
the eyes of Jehovah" (Genesis 6:8).
Noah (in
Hebrew Noah - "consolation, rest": "He will comfort us in work and
in weary toil..." (Genesis 5:29)), even as a child, Noah showed promise as
a special child, and then indeed became the mediator of salvation in the ark,
which was built by him and his family, under the guidance of God, however, he
did not become the very Saviour promised in Eden, and was not "bitten by
the serpent in the heel", nor "struck the serpent in the head",
saving humanity from the hectic, exhausting work, returning paradise
conditions, incorruptible life and union with God ...
The true
Saviour was yet to come, and as it appears God continued to be concerned about
this, revealing other details about him...
After the
flood, Noah and his family were blessed by the Creator to repopulate the earth
and multiply (see Gen. 8 Ch.). However, it seems that the sinfulness of man,
caused by the intrigues of the "serpent", did not disappear, and
consequently mortality - as a result of sinfulness ... This is shown by the
subsequent history and the events that happened particularly to Noah, described
in Genesis, in which we often read "so-and-so lived and died". But
Noah, and especially one of his sons, soon after his salvation, showed his
sinfulness in practice, so to speak: "Noah began to cultivate the land and
planted a vineyard; and he drank wine, and became drunken, and lay naked in his
tent" (Genesis 9:20,21). Having misused the wine, Noah, otherwise and
briefly, did not cover himself in his tent, falling asleep naked, which had
other consequences:
"And
Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and went out and told
his two brothers. And Shem and Japheth took the robe, put it on their
shoulders, and went backward and covered their father's nakedness; their faces
were turned backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
And Noah
awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him, and said,
Cursed be Canaan; he shall be a slave of slaves to his brethren.
Then he
said, Blessed be the LORD [in the original language here is a tetragram, the
name of God] the God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his slave; that God may
distribute Japheth, and he may dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be
his slave" (Gen.9:23-27).
Apparently,
Ham began to mock the father of the family insolently before his brothers, and
Shem, probably being more mature spiritually, together with Japheth, corrected
it humbly and respectfully to the head of the family, who had committed a
mistake. Thus Shem showed himself to be God-pleasing, apparently being the
initiator of the action, and Japheth together with him, in contrast to Ham's
bad action, which caused him to deprive his descendants, in the person of
Canaan, of the blessings of God. Noah, however, praised Shem, seeing in him
reverence for himself and the Creator, calling God - "the God of
Shem" (not Ham) - by uttering a prophecy-blessing to Shem's offspring.
Thus it became clear that the lineage that would lead to the promised
"seed"-the saviour, would descend from Shem, according to God's
choice. It is from the name of Shem (in Hebrew Shem means "name, glory")
received the names of the "Semitic" nations, his offspring ...
Next in
Genesis there is a list of generations from the three sons of Noah, from which
"were scattered over the earth nations after the flood" (Gen.10:32),
and then the story of the "Babylonian Collapse" and mixing of
languages. It was then, for the first time after the flood, man again began to
build their plans, contrary to God's plan and command, and invent their own
ideologies and cults, distorting what has been known since Eden, as well as
since the flood, so different peoples throughout the land, as we know, have
legends about the flood and their versions and interpretations.
Then comes
the description of one of the descendant lines of Shem, namely from his son
Arphaxad, which leads to Eber (from whom the Hebrews probably got their name),
and from him to Abram (Abraham), now known throughout the world as the most
revered forefather in world religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam,
which in religious studies are called "Abrahamic", and the reason for
this is seen in the further narration of Scripture ...
"Abraham
was a native of Ur, a prosperous Chaldean city located in the land of Sennahar
near where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers now intersect. Ur was situated about
240 kilometres to the south-east of Babylon, the royal city once ruled by
Nimrod, famous for its unfinished tower. In the days of Abraham in Ur there was
idolatry, which had its beginning in Babylon, and the worship of the moon god
Sinu, the patron of the city (Isaiah 24:2, 14, 15). Nevertheless, Abraham's
entire life, like that of his ancestors Shem and Noah, attests to his
unwavering faith in Jehovah God. He became known as "the father of all the
uncircumcised who have faith" (Rm 4:11). Genuine faith rests on exact knowledge.
Such knowledge Abraham could gain from his fellowship with Shem, who died when
Abraham was 150 years old. Abraham knew and used the name of God, whom he
called "Jehovah, the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth"
as well as "Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of earth" (Bt
14:22; 24:3 see Arch. Macarius or NWT translation, for example)."
(Encyclopedia «Insight on the Scriptures», Abraham)
As a
descendant of Shem, Abram continued to seek the Creator and his ways, and so
God called Abram to leave the sinful city of Ur, and go to the land of Canaan
(where the descendants of Ham on the line of Canaan lived), which God promised
to give to Abram and his descendants forever. "The God of Shem"
intended it to be through Abram to produce a righteous "seed" who was
to become the savior of mankind and the destroyer of the ancient Serpent
(Genesis 3:14,15). Therefore, Abram was told these words:
"Go
forth from thy land, from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land
which I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and exalt thy name, and thou shalt be blessed; I will bless them
that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee; and all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed
in thee." (Genesis 12: 1-3)
"I am
God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless; and I will make My covenant
[lit. agreement, union] between Me and you, and I will very, very multiply you.
And Abram fell on his face. And God spake unto him again, and said, I am my
covenant with thee: thou shalt be a father of many nations, and thou shalt no
more be called Abram [in Heb. «the father of greatness], but thy name shall be
Abraham [in Heb. «the father of many nations»] For I will make thee a father of
many nations, and I will very, very disperse thee, and bring forth nations from
thee, and kings shall come forth from
thee; And I will put my covenant between me and you, and between your
descendants after you in their generations, an everlasting covenant, that I
will be your God and your descendants after you; and I will give you and your
descendants after you the land through which you wander, all the land of
Canaan, into an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. "
(Genesis 17:1-8)
"Sarai
your wife shall not be called Sarai [Hebrew for 'grumpy'], but let her name be
Sarrah ['queen', from Heb. word «sar» - chief,
prince, king: God goes on to explain why he called her that, saying that from
her would come «kings of the
nations»…]. "And Abraham fell down on his face, and he called her, and
gave thee a son from her; I will bless her, and the nations shall descend from
her, and the kings of the nations
shall descend from her. And Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said
unto himself, Would a son be born of a centenarian, and Sarah, aged ninety,
would she bear a son? And Abraham said unto God, Oh, that Ishmael [Abram's son
by Hagar's maid, the forefather of the Arab tribes] were alive before Thee! And
God said, It is Sarah thy wife that shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call
his name Isaac: and I will make my covenant with him an everlasting covenant,
and his posterity after him. And of Ishmael I have heard thee: behold, I will
bless him, and raise him up, and greatly, greatly multiply him; twelve princes
shall be born of him; and I will make from him a great nation." (Genesis
17:17-20)
"...Through
Isaac you shall have the seed which I promised you." (Genesis 21:12)
"By me
I swear, says the Lord, that since you have done this work, and have not spared
your son, your only son, I will bless you and multiply your seed as the stars
of heaven and as the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the
cities of your enemies [the outcome of that very feud between the seed of the
serpent and the seed of the woman (Gen.3 :14,15); author's note]; and all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed in thy seed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis
22:16-18)
So, it became
clear that the saving 'seed' would come in the Abraham-Isaac line, that the
seed was not just one person, the offspring, but many (how this is
interrelated, and not contradictory, will be discussed a little further), that
is, a whole nation, that they would be 'kings of nations', and because of this
seed 'all the nations of the earth will be blessed'.
Isaac had
two twins born. "But even before the twins were born, and before they had
done anything good or bad (so that God's choice did not depend on their works,
but only on the Caller Himself), Rebekah was told, 'The elder shall serve the
younger'"(Romans 9:11,12 New Russian translation, cf. Gen.25:23). God
chose the line of the younger, Jacob (Heb. "Grabbing the heel", in
the sense of displacing, taking the place of another) rather than Esau, who
came out of the womb first. To Isaac, son of Abraham, the same promise and
prophecy of the seed was repeated, as to his son Jacob, who as a mature man
experienced an important lesson from God and received a new name:
"And
Jacob was left alone. And he wrestled with him until the dawn appeared; and
when he saw that he could not prevail, he touched the composition of his thigh
and injured the composition of Jacob's thigh as he wrestled with him. And He
said unto him, Let Me go, for the dawn hath risen. And Jacob said: I will not
let you go until you have blessed me. And he said, "What is your name? He
said, "Jacob. And he said, "Your name shall not be Jacob from now on,
but Israel ["Struggling with God," in the sense of "striving
hard," as opposed to the first name, which has the meaning of
"striving by cunning"; note the author of the article], for you have
struggled with God, and with men you shall overpower. And Jacob also asked,
saying, Speak your name. And He said, Why do you ask for My name? And He
blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [Hebrew for
'the face of God']; for, he said, I have seen God face to face, and my soul is
preserved" (Gen.32:24-30).
In another
book of the Bible, God explained exactly who Jacob was struggling with:
"While
still in his mother's womb he stabbed his brother, and when he was old enough
he wrestled with God. He struggled with the angel [Hebrew for 'messenger'] -
and he prevailed; he wept and pleaded with Him" (Hosea 12:3,4).
Apparently
God sent Jacob his angel, one of the heavenly ones (in certain contexts
throughout Scripture there are many places where the word 'god' (meaning
'mighty' in the original language) means a non-human, one of the sons of the
Most High, an angel) who took human form and struggled with Jacob: that is,
Jacob was essentially struggling with God himself as his representative, an
envoy. Thus Jehovah taught him to wrestle for blessings, not to try to obtain
them by artifice, and strengthened him not to fear men, but to depend upon God.
Israel had
twelve sons who became the forefathers of the twelve tribes of the nation of
Israel. Through which one of them would the line leading to the promised seed
in Eden be continued?
Already in
his old age Israel moves to Egypt and before he dies he pronounces
blessings-prophecies on him twelve sons, and this is what is said of one of
them, named Judah (Heb. "praised"):
"Judah,
your brothers shall praise you,
your hand
shall be on the neck of your enemies,
your
father's sons will bow down to you.
You are a
young lion, Judah;
you return
from your prey, my son.
Like a lion,
he crouches on the ground and lies down,
like a
lioness - who dares to disturb him?
The scepter
will not leave Judas,
and his
descendants will always hold the rod of rulers,
until the
One to whom it belongs comes.
The One to
whom all nations will submit." (Genesis 49:8-10)
So, the
promised "seed of the woman" in Eden, in the line of Noah, from his
son Shem, further in the line of Semites descendant of Abraham, who was to
become the king of the people of Israel and then all nations, was to come from
the lineage of Judah. It was also already known that Abraham's seed was not
just one unique descendant, but an entire nation, who was to become kings of
the nations and a blessing to all the nations of the earth. Indeed,
paradoxically, the first prophecy about the saving seed of the woman in Eden
uses the word "zera" (seed), which is singular, but can be used in a
collective sense. And while this prophecy about the seed says literally
"He (in Hebrew "hu") will strike you [the serpent] in the
head", that is in the singular, a certain descendant of Eve, other
prophecies, as we see, say that the seed is also a whole nation. This
mystery-paradox is revealed throughout Scripture, and is fully explained in the
Christian Scriptures (the so-called "New Testament"), which will be
mentioned later... But even now it is clear that the descendants of Abraham,
Isaac and Israel, who after the death of the latter in the land of Egypt, were
to inherit the land of Canaan, to become a separate people, who will have a
dynasty of kings through Judah, from whom comes the promised offspring, "to
whom all nations will obey", "all the nations of the earth will be
blessed".
Next, we
shall trace how this was fulfilled and how it all interrelated, and what was
further revealed about this mysterious and desirable seed for mankind, and
Abraham's descendants...
When God led
the Israelites out of Egyptian captivity, led by Moses, He reminded them not
only of His promise to give the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Israel the
land of Canaan, but also of His plan through Abraham's seed to bless all
nations, making the Israelites a special people with a special mission:
"Therefore,
if you will obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My inheritance out
of all the nations; for all the earth is Mine, and you will be with Me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation" (Exodus 19:4,5).
The seed of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel were not only to become a whole unique people among
the rest, who would be "kings of the nations" (Gen.17:1-8, 16), but
also priests: a whole kingdom of priests! The role of the priest is to be a
mediator between the holy God and sinful men, and to participate in the
cleansing of sinners and intercede for them before God. The condition was given
to the Israelites that if(!) they would obey God and keep the covenant
(agreement) described in the Law, then God would make them a kingdom of priests
(priest-kings) for the rest of the nations, "the whole earth",
thereby giving through the seed of Abraham a blessing for all nations who were
in sin leading to death. Thus would be fulfilled the Edenic promise that
"the seed of the woman" would strike the Serpent in the head
(Gen.3:15), giving back what man had lost after sinning.
Thus, it has
since been revealed that the promised saving "seed of the woman" will
be the seed of Abraham, Isaac, Israel, who in the tribe of Judah will have an
exalted ruler, to whom all nations will be subdued (Gen.49 :8-10), and that
this seed would become a whole unique nation and kingdom, with an important
saving (blessed) mediating mission: priestly kings for the rest of the nations
who are in sin, which originated in Eden...
Now, the
attention of God's scripture is specifically given to the lineage of Judah and
the royal dynasty from which the great ruler, the destroyer of the serpent and
the deliverer of mankind, is to emerge...
To one of
the descendants from the tribe of Judah, King David (Hebrew for
"Beloved"), whose hometown was Bethlehem, God gave a promise:
"The
Lord proclaims to you that He will make a home for you. When your days are
fulfilled and you are honoured with your fathers, I will raise up your seed
after you, who shall come from your loins, and I will strengthen his kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his
kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and if he
transgress, I will smite him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of
men; but I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I
rejected before thy face. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be steadfast for
ever before Me, and thy throne shall stand forever." (2 Samuel 7:11-16)
This
prophecy indicates that the throne of David's royal line, the tribe of Judah,
will "stand forever" because one of his descendants will have special
favor with God, and his kingdom or reign will be enduring because he will
glorify the name of God. Although in part this prophecy was fulfilled on
David's famous son, Solomon, who built the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem, and
received wisdom and wealth from God, he did not show devotion to God to the
end, and began to sin, which later caused problems in the kingdom of Israel...
It became
clear that the saving "seed of the woman" promised in Eden was to be
expected in the lineage of David, from whom a royal dynasty was formed in
Israel, by the election of God. It was on his dynasty and descendant that the
words of the promise were to be fulfilled: "The scepter shall not leave
Judah, and his descendants shall always hold the rod of rulers until he comes
to whom it belongs, to whom all nations shall obey." (Genesis 49:10)
Centuries
later, through the prophet Micah, God said interesting details about this
Ruler:
"And
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you small among the thousands of Judah? out of
you shall come forth to Me the One who shall be Ruler in Israel, and whose
origin is from the beginning, from the days of eternity [lit. ancient, long
ago]." (Micah 5:2)
This
particular king will appear in the same town as his ancestor David, a very
insignificant one in Judah, and what is interesting is that his most ancient
origin, going back to the beginning of days, that is much, to say the least,
older than the dynasty of David, the tribe of Judah or Eve himself, to whom
this particular "seed" was promised... But what could this mean?
Next, we
will look at how God paralleled, so to speak, hints and leads in Scripture and
history that the promised victor of the Serpent, the great Ruler, the Messiah
(Hebrew Mashiach - anointed one), was not just a common descendant of a woman,
Adam and Eve, a descendant of Abraham, David, but had a more ancient and nobler
lineage...
The Bible
speaks from the very beginning of the earliest days when God began to create
the heavens and the earth, and in the description of this you can already see
important and curious details. First, the description of creation is always
accompanied by the words "God said":
"And
God said, yea [meaning: let] there be light. And there became light."
(Genesis 1:3)
When it
comes to the creation of man, God says the following:
"Let Us make man in Our image and in Our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26).
We can
already conclude that God speaks to someone else, whom he commanded at creation
("let it be" this and that) and who fulfilled his creative words,
plans ("and it became so"). Indeed, further down in Scripture we see
a curious passage in the book of Proverbs:
"The L-rd
created me at the beginning of his way, before his creatures, from everlasting.
I was chosen to be a prince from the beginning, before the earth existed. I was
born when there were no abysses and springs full of water. I was born before
the mountains were submerged among the waters, before the hills; When yet He
created not the earth nor the fields, nor the beginning dust of the universe.
When he made the heavens I was there, when he drew the line round the level of
the abyss, When he fixed the clouds on high, when he strengthened the springs
of the abyss, When he laid his statute for the sea, That the waters should not
overstep his command, When he laid the foundations of the earth, And I was his
chaperone ["A skilled helper or master, a craftsman": see New Russian
Translation, ERV Bible League, Modern WBTC, NWT], and was a joy every day,
rejoicing before Him all the time, Rejoicing in His inhabited land, and my joy
is with the sons of men." (Proverbs 8:22-31 David Yosefon's translation)
These are
poetic words of God's Wisdom, that speaks of itself as the first child in God,
who participated in the creation of the world as a wise, skillful helper, and
was a joy to the Father, rejoicing in their cooperation and the 'fruit' of it.
This may be compared to how the architect guides the builder, the craftsman, in
building a house, or how the carpenter-builder's son helps and carries out the
instructions of a loving father, who has taught his son all his wisdom,
bestowing his wisdom upon him, so to speak. Hence, there is already a more or
less clear indication that God has a firstborn son who came before everything
else and was a co-worker in the creation of the world, to whom God said
"let there be" this and that, and thanks to whom "it became
so". Also the parables point to the princely (in the original verse 23 it
says "I was anointed") role of Wisdom, her role in ruling the world.
Are there
any other details and revelations in Scripture about this original Son of God?
And how does this relate to what is said about the serpent-winner, the Messiah
(anointed one) of God, and his "most ancient origin" (Mic.5:2)?
As already
mentioned in the previous parts of this article, from the very beginning, the
Bible refers to a special heavenly servant of God, the son of God, so to speak,
who has great power and an important role as a representative of God
("Behold, I send an angel before you [lit. «a messenger»] to keep you in
the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared; Watch
yourselves before his face, and listen to his voice; do not persevere against
him, for he will not forgive your sin, for my name is in him." (Exodus
23:20,21)) and the head of the holy angels ("I am the leader of the host of
the Lord, now come here. Joshua fell on the ground with his face and bowed down
and said to him, "What shall my lord say to his servant? The leader of the
host of the Lord said to Joshua, "Take your shoes off your feet, for the
place where you are standing is holy. And Jesus did so." (Joshua
5:14-15)).
It is he who
appears to the prophet Daniel in the Babylonian captivity, when Jehovah's
temple was destroyed and the people had no high priest or king on earth. Daniel
is revealed one of the corresponding names of this special celestial man:
Michael, which means "Who is like God?". This speaks of him as the
defender of God's sovereignty (challenged back in Eden: "you shall become
like God..."), which is a characteristic feature of the Messiah's role.
Michael is said to be the heavenly ruler of God's people (which corresponds to
the role of the Messiah) and that he is one of the first rulers, the closest to
God and the strongest of God's heavenly sons (see Dan.10). Michael is described
in the apparitions to Daniel as the heavenly high priest (see Part 3), and the
prophecies about him say that he is to rise in the last days to defend God's
people, being "a great(!) leader" who will remove earthly kings and
begin the messianic age of rule on earth, beginning the resurrection and judgment
(Dan.12:1.2), which is also directly consistent with the messianic role of the
promised seed in Eden.
Thus, it is
already clear that Michael is the firstborn son of God, who was to become
"the seed of the woman", the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
Judah, David, the king of Israel and the world, the promised Messiah, who is
not only of human origin, but also of ancient, heavenly origin (Mich.5:2).
What else in
the Scripture confirms and reveals this?
As mentioned
in earlier parts of this article (and in part shown above), Michael appears in
the Tanakh ("Old Testament") and accordingly in the Christian New
Testament writings as the same fighter with the "serpent" and his
"seed" (offspring), as is said of the promised Messiah (Christ)-the
Saviour. Revelation 12:7-10 puts it like this:
"And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels made war against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels made war against them, but they could not
prevail, and there was no more room for them in heaven.
And the
great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, deceiving the
whole universe, was cast down to earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
And I heard
a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of
our God and the power of his Christ
has come, because the accuser of our brethren, who slandered them before our
God day and night, has been cast down.'"
Here is the
statement of the famous Russian biblical scholar Lopukhin, commenting on the
prophecy about the struggle between the two "seeds" from Genesis
3:14,15:
"This
section is of the greatest importance. It contains a prophecy that runs through
all of world history, right up to the end of the world, and is fulfilled
together on every page of the aforementioned story. The deep enmity named here
is that internal opposition which exists between good and evil, light and
darkness (John 3:19-20, 7:7; 1 John 2:15) - this enmity is reflected even in
the sphere of higher spirits (Rev 12:7-9). "The first woman in the world
is the first to fall into the net of the devil, but she also by her repentance
(meaning the repentance of all subsequent extra-paradise life) is the first to
shake his power over her" (Vissarion)." (Lopukhin's Interpretations
on Genesis)
Hence, it
follows that in order to be "bitten in the heel" (temporary damage)
the first-born Son of God became a human seed, a descendant of the woman
("the Logos became flesh" (John 1:14)). And to throw the Serpent (Satan,
the Evil Spirit) down from the heaven and strike him in the head (final
destruction), he ascended (was returned through the resurrection and ascension)
into heaven.
It is also
interesting to note that the Apostle John in his Gospel, in the same first
chapter, gives another curious phrase about God's unique and closest heavenly
Son: "He came to his own ones, and his own ones did not receive
him" (John 1:11). Here the apostle speaks of the people of Israel,
probably alluding precisely to the revelations of the book of Daniel ("Old
Testament") about the special patron and heavenly ruler(!) of the Jews and
the head of the heavenly host of God:
"But I
will declare to you what is written in the true scripture; and there is no one
to support me in these things, except Michael, your prince (chief)" (Dan. 10:21).
Yes, Michael
is named as the heavenly ruler of the people of Israel; he, before he came to
earth, was their head, which may be why John mentions that the Logos who became
flesh ("the seed of the woman") came precisely to "his own ones"...
The author
of Hebrews also writes about this:
"And
since these children are men in flesh and blood, he also became like these men,
so that through his death he might destroy him who has power over death, that
is, the devil, and deliver those who have been in bondage to the fear of death
all their lives.
For it is
clear that He does not help the angels, but only the descendants of Abraham.
And so Jesus
had to take on the image of His brothers and sisters in order to become a
merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God in order to atone for
human sin.
For since He
Himself was tempted and suffered, He can also help those who are tempted."
(Hebrews 2:14-18)
Another of
the Messianic characteristics is mentioned here, which we will talk about
next...
As already
mentioned here, according to God's revelations, the saving "seed of the
woman" promised in Eden, which went on through the line of
Abraham-Isaac-Israel, was to combine two functions: to be "kings of nations"
and a "kingdom of priests". However, in the Sinai covenant with the
people of Israel the function of priesthood was assigned to the descendants of
Levi (one of the 12 sons of Israel) in the line of Aaron, while the function of
king, later on, was assigned to the descendants of Judah, in the line of David.
Nevertheless, the earlier prophecies were to be fulfilled, therefore it is said
of the foretold Messiah, the unique descendant of David, who is of the oldest
heavenly lineage, that in the end it will be so:
"Say
unto him Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: 'Behold a man named Branch: he shall
sprout out of his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is He who will
build the temple of the Lord, it is He who will clothe Himself with splendour,
and He who will sit down and rule from His throne. He will also become a priest on the throne, and the one will not
contradict the other." (Zechariah 6:12,13)
It was also
prophetically stated in the Psalms that God vowed to make his Anointed One, a
descendant of David, the chief priest, "according to the order of
Melchizedek" (Psalm 109:4), the same king who went out to meet Abraham,
who returned Lot from captivity, and was king and priest in the city of Salim
(future Jerusalem). Here is how the author of Hebrews explains it:
"This
Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham
returning from a battle after defeating kings and blessed him. Abraham gave him
a tenth of everything he had. His very name Melchizedek means "king of
righteousness," and his title "king of Salim" means "king
who brings peace [shalom]." (Hebrews 7:1,2)
So, we see
that the "seed of the woman", as a people and as one descendant, must
perform both functions, royal and priestly, to restore to sinful mankind what
it lost because of the lies of the ancient Serpent: life, righteousness,
earthly paradise and unity with the Creator.
What else
does Scripture say about this, and how does it all relate to the title of this
part (7th), as in fact the whole article?
Here is what
God said in ancient times through one of his prophets:
"I
declare from the beginning what will be
at the end, and from ancient times what has not yet been done, I say, My
counsel [plan] will take place [analogy: it will become, come to pass, happen],
and whatever I please I will do." (Isaiah 46:10) [note the title of this
part of the article, 7th; author's note]
And here is
one example of this:
"As the
Scriptures say: "I have made you the father of many nations." This is
the truth before God: Abraham believed in a God who raises the dead and speaks
(!) of the things that have not happened as having already happened (!)."
(Romans 4:17)
Here apostle
Paul quotes the words from the Book of Genesis (17:5), spoken to Abram, when he
did not even have children yet. And the verb in the original Hebrew is there in
the perfect form, so it can be translated as " have made ". God speaks
to Abram about future events as if they had already happened! And it is
directly related to the holy and unique name of the Most High God, the Father
of all and everything (which occurs throughout the Bible, in the original
language, most often, about 7000 times)... more precisely, it has to do with
the translation, the meaning of this name, which in English is usually spelled
"Jehovah" (this name in Hebrew יְהֹוָה appears to have been formed
from the verb היה, haiah (havah) - "to be, become, happen, occur",
just in the Hiphil form; see the Encyclopedia “Insight on the Scriptures”,
"Jehovah", for more details).
As has been
shown in this part of the article, God, from the very beginning of mankind,
when the first couple made the deadly mistake of a certain "Serpent"
and fell into woeful rebellion, uttered mysterious words, which are also called
"the sacred mystery of God", the first prophecy which influenced the
subsequent history, cultures and religions of the world, and which contained
good words about the struggle and the subsequent victory, rescue and recovery
of all that was lost by the people through the lies of the mysterious,
imaginary goodwinner (cf. Genesis 3).
God's
promised "seed of the woman" must wrestle with the Serpent and his
"seed" (offspring), be bitten in the heel (temporary harm) and
eventually defeat the Serpent's offspring and he himself is struck in the head
(total, final destruction). And we see how throughout history and throughout
the text of Scripture this is consistently seen...
The Messiah,
who has heavenly and earthly origins according to the revelations of the Bible,
is characterised as a fighter against the Serpent and his conqueror: in the
same way, throughout the Scriptures, the Archangel Michael, the head of the
host of God (and this name itself, its translation (Heb. "Who is like
God?! "), refers us to the event in Eden, when man was tempted to be
"like God" because of the Serpent), in the same way Metatron and
Logos are also spoken of, which indicates that these three are the names of one
person, the unique Son of God, the promised Saviour of the world in antiquity.
What other
common characteristics linking the promised descendant of the
"woman," the descendant of David, the Anointed One, with the
heavenly, closest minister of God (Metatron, Michael), and with the unique,
first Son of God (Logos), has Jehovah expressed from the beginning to show what
will be at the end, and to fulfil his great design through his Christ?
Conclusion:
So the
article has shown the characteristics and attributes common to Metatron,
Michael and Logos, linking them as one person, and here are the main ones:
- king and
high priest
- the first
and closest servant and son of God
- the
wrestler and conqueror of the serpent and his offspring
- the head
of the heavenly host - Logos (see Rev.19:14), Michael - the ARCHangel,
Metatron.
The
theologian Philo of Alexandria, mentioned in the article, seems to have served
as a bridge between the Jewish and Christian eras, showing that God has a
unique and first heavenly son and servant, called the Logos and Wisdom of God,
who is the Archangel, collaborator-mediator in the creation of the world, and a
key figure in the redemptive design and government of the universe. Apparently
somewhat familiar with some Jewish interpretations of the Second Temple era,
about Metatron, Michael, Philo somehow connects them with the name Logos
(Word), which appears in the Tanakh (the so-called 'Old Testament', and which
Philo meets in the writings of Greek thinkers), as with 'the Angel of the
Lord', in which the name of God, 'head of the host of Jehovah'. Philo describes
him in messianic 'colours' and 'shades', which a little later the New Testament
writers largely use in relation to Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
As has been
repeatedly mentioned in this concluding section, the oldest mystery-prophecy of
victory over the Enemy (Gen.3 :15,16), which caused mankind to fall into the
path of sin, corruption and death, having lost their good relationship with the
heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe, this key text of the whole Bible,
its prophetic words, Jehovah brings into effect throughout human history and
consistently in Scripture, and precisely through the one called Metatron and
the archangel Michael and the Logos (Word), and more generally the
"Messiah" (Anointed One) of God.
So, the New
Testament scriptures show in turn that all this refers specifically to Jesus of
Nazareth, the descendant of David, the "seed of the woman". This
"seed (offspring) of the woman" is spoken of in the Old Testament
scriptures as one unique offspring and as many descendants, a whole nation, who
like the Messiah will be kings and priests and overcomers of the ancient
Serpent, and this mystery-paradox is revealed throughout the Scripture and
especially in the New Testament texts. It says that God chooses from the
offspring of Abraham-Israel and the rest of the nations those who will be
co-heirs with Jesus Christ in the heavenly kingdom, and that this is the
combined "seed of the woman" because these men become "one in
Christ", "belonging to Christ", "verily the offspring of
Abraham, heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). It is this
heavenly kingdom of priests led by Jesus that will reign over the earth for a
thousand years (see Rev.20:6), in the Messianic age, to cleanse from sin and
death obedient humanity on the basis of atonement for sins through the blood of
the Messiah, "the lamb of God," so that thereby the "works of
the Devil" (1 John 3:8), that "ancient Serpent" (Rev.12 :9), and
not merely to recover what was lost in Eden, but to multiply immensely, thereby
glorifying the greatness of the love and wisdom of the Most High God, the
heavenly Father, and sanctifying his mighty name (Jehovah, יְהֹוָה), fulfilling
all his words and promises, so that many witnesses may also say of them:
"and it became so", and that of the "seventh day" (which
began after the creation of man and will end when God sees the fulfilment of
His design revealed to the first pair of people in Eden) Jehovah may say
"very good" ("and there was evening and there was morning - the
seventh day . .."). Amen!
