Loading...I have been discussing how human beings were sometimes thought to become gods in the ancient world. All of this is backdrop to my assessment of why Christians thought that Jesus had become God. Of course, most Christians say that Christ did not *become* God: he had always *been* God.
That indeed is the traditional Christian teaching, but I will be arguing that it was not the original view. The first followers of Jesus, after his resurrection, believed he had been made divine at that point. Only later did that view develop into the notion that he had always been divine. It will take a while for me to show that, but my premise will be that Jesus’ immediate followers were influenced by traditions that humans could indeed become divine beings.
Still what relevance will that have for Christianity? The earliest Christians were Jews. The traditions I’ve been talking come out of *pagan* cultures.. No relevance for early Christians, right?
Wrong. As it turns out Jews also sometimes thought that a human could become divine. In this post I’ll talk about one variant of this view, that mortal humans could become divine superhumans, angels. In later posts I’ll talk about an even more bizarre view (bizarre, that is, in the context of Judaism) that humans could become gods. Jews believed that? Who woulda thought?
This is how I begin to explain the matter in my book How Jesus Became God.
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Many people today have the view that when people die, they become angels (well, at least if they’ve been “good”). That is a very old belief indeed. In one of the great apocalypses that has come down to us from early Judaism, the book of 2 Baruch, we learn that righteous believers will be transformed “into the splendor of angels… for they will live in the heights of that world and they will be like the angels and be equal to the stars…. And the excellence of the righteous will then be greater than that of the angels” (2 Baruch 51.3-10).[1] Here, then, those who are righteous become angels who are greater than other angels – greater even than the stars, who were believed by many ancient people to be fantastically great angels.
Some ancient Jewish texts portray particular individuals as being transformed into angels at death. One of the supremely mysterious characters in the Hebrew Bible is the ancient figure, Enoch. We do not learn much about This is a topic most people know nothing about. Want to become one of the informed insiders? If you’re a blog member, you’re in! If you’re not a member, you can certainly get in. Just join the blog. Every penny of your small fee goes to charity, so there is nothing to lose!
What do you think of the theory that Enoch was originally an ancient solar deity – 365 years is one year for each day of the year (if that makes sense)?
My view is: who knows??
Elijah was another who didn’t die, but rather was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire (no, I don’t think it was a UFO!). So it makes sense that in the Gospels when Jesus is transfigured before several of his disciples it is Moses and Elijah who appear and talk with Jesus. Apparently Enoch didn’t make the cut.
Two’s company, three’s a crowd.
Thank you Bart; this is really interesting.
What then is your perspective of the transformation of Enoch in 1 Enoch 71:11 “I fell on my face, and my flesh melted, and my spirit was transformed “, following which, it is revealed to Enoch that he is now himself the apocalyptic human figure that had been revealed to him in the visions chapters 48 onwards Would you consider this also to be ‘angelification’?
Seems to be. It then appears he is also the “Son of Man” (later in the chapter)
Excellent point Dr. Ehrman, I TOTALLY AGREE, THE ANCIENT JEWS WERE NOT ALL MONOTHEISTS!!! Moses dealt with this issue by doing away with the Golden Calf statue from his own followers and implemented the Ten Commandments in its stead. What is of concern, however, is: was Jesus monotheist (unlike his own followers)? Mark 1 and 12, the earliest gospel written (ca. 65-70), tells us. He warned the Jews of God’s impending “wrath” and to “repent,” that “the kingdom of God is near.” Nothing here about proclaiming divinity!!! Numbers 23:19 is clear that God is not a man!!! Lastly, Jesus recited the Shema in Mark 12:29 and REJECTS any divinity in Matthew 19:17!!! The followers of Moses and Jesus were not true monotheists!!! Do you agree Dr. Ehrman?
Interesting. How do scholars reconcile with what Jesus said in John 3;13, ” No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man”, with the Gen.5; 24 verse you cited, that Enoch was in fact taken to Heaven, apparently Elijah as well in 2 Kings 2; 11, ” And as they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a [e]whirlwind to heaven” ? Is Jesus’ words in John, undermining the O.T. or does John mean something completely different ?
It’s a great question, and it’s hard to know. Gen. 5:24, of coruse, does not specify that Enoch was taken “to heaven,” thought that’s certainly assumed. As to Elijah — good question. Maybe John didn’t know or forgot that passage!
Hello Dr Bart,
Amazing insight as usual.
Question is when and where do you think the idea that jesus has always been god started?
Did it grow out of the early jerusalem church? Or is it more likely an product of gentile christianity with Grecko-Roman influence?
I’ll be getting to that on this thread! It is a later Christolotical development (I’ll be calling it an incarnational Christology)
Thanks, Dr. Ehrman! This is a very thought-provoking post. Since I have never heard of angel Michael before, I searched him on Wikipedia and found out he is also known as the archangel in the Quran, Hebrew Bible, and The Book of Revelation. As many angels are simply god’s messengers, he seems to have much more power beyond other angels.
I am curious about what made some angels (like Moses and Michael) greater than the other angels? Does god have clear criteria for it?
I’m sure he does! But unfortunately he hasn’t told us what the criteria are! 🙂 It’s usually thought, though, that just as some humans are more powerful than others, so too angels: Gabriel, Raphael, and especcially Michael are at the top. Probably because God simply made them that way.
Moses was buried where no-one could turn his grave into a thing of worship. Jews were incredibly pagan.
One must bear in mind that “Judaism” and the Tanakh (Old Testament) are often TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. And our bible was quite condemning of the Jewish people. The bible was structured in such a way that the Jews maintained and treasured its writings – and that’s super interesting.
As for divinity – even the most celebrated of saints showed their flaws – Abraham doubting God’s promises; Moses killing the Egyptian (and his disobedient to God in the wilderness) David and his rape of Bathsheba; Samuel’s not controlling his own sons. Only one man is portrayed as having a sinless life.
I’m not sure what you mean that “Jews” were “incredibly pagan”? Do you mean all Jews? That’s kind of like saying something like “Christians were incredibly lecherous,” or “Buddhists were incredibly weak” — no?
And angels, divine beings, would sometimes appear in human form. One could ask of these angelic bodies the same questions that were asked regarding the body of Jesus. Apparent human bodies only, something like illusions? Spiritual bodies, as in Paul’s interpretation? But then it gets complicated, since the premise seems to be that angels weren’t created with any sort of body. If spiritual bodies, then assumed for a special occasion and then discarded? Certainly not animated corpses, as some imagined resurrected human bodies would be. Bizarre issues like these seem unavoidable given the premise that beings like angels exist, and that they sometimes appear to people in what seems to be a human body. And I haven’t even brought up the issue of clothing! Because we can’t have nude angels! That would be wicked! For that matter, what about the issue of what the resurrected Jesus wore? We can’t have a nude Jesus! That would be wicked! Do Jesus and the angels have a divine tailor?
Bart,
You said, [given 1 Thess 4: 13-18], For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. Matthew 24: 31 says, And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call.
QUESTION: Given Gal. 4: 14, Jesus with the voice of an archangel because Jesus IS an archangel and Jesus sending out his angels because there are angels under archangels?
I don’t know. I don’t recall any ancient Christian text that speaks of Christ as an archangel. But if he was thought to be an angel (as some Christains did — including Paul, I think) then he would have been the archestangel!
Archaeological surveys of Jewish cemeteries in pre Christian Israel showed many to have figurines or idols of pagan figures, particularly Baal. Interestingly, this ended after Babylon. So could crudely date cemeteries to the pre or post Babylon eras just by the idol count.
Stories such as golden calf and the grinding down of the bronze serpent are further demonstrations of this.
Your post makes me curious about the historicity of Moses. From a historical perspective, would you say his existence is probable, or is it merely a possibility?
He *possibly* existed, but I don’t think if there was some kind of historical figure behind the stories, that anything like the stories actually happened — they are all highly legendary, far more so than anything in the NT: the accounts we have are many centuries after the alleged events, and the main ones — e.g., the Exodus — can be shown almost certainly not to have happened.
I am confused by the chronology here, because the context in _How Jesus Became God_, coupled with the use of phrases like “early Judaism” and “very old belief indeed”, led me to understand we were talking about ideas much older than Jesus. But not only is it all firmly rooted in the package of thought we call apocalyptism (which I find very odd to call *early* Judaism: ancient yes; early no), but Wikipedia says 2 Baruch is “thought to have been written in the late 1st century AD or early 2nd century AD, after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70”. So it doesn’t even predate Jesus at all. This seems likely to confuse other readers as well.
Another thing that confuses me is the phrase “righteous believers”, given that Judaism emphasises action, not belief (page 50). I would have thought “righteous worshippers” would be more likely.
Can you clear up these points of confusion?
Added the next day: I’ve spotted a straightforward erratu … I mean … scribal corruption on page 62: the reference to Numbers 13:3 ought to be Numbers 13:33.
“Early Judaism” is a term that refers to the Jewish tradition (roughly) from after the Old Testament period up to the Rabbinic period. AFter that it becomes rabbinic Judaism.
OK, but in a book aimed at a general audience, not scholars, I think I have a strong case that the language used is misleading.
Moving on, page 66 with its description of the worship of the Son of Man as described in 1 Enoch is intriguing…