{"id":2857,"date":"2023-04-23T19:16:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T19:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2857"},"modified":"2024-07-30T20:49:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-30T20:49:10","slug":"08-finding-the-messiah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=2857","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 8: Finding the Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chapter 8<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finding the Messiah<\/mark><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The Visions of The Son<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of the Ancient of Days and the One Like a Son of Man from the book of Daniel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s clear that the expectation of a messiah was now both widespread and fervent among the Jews of this era, there was, as noted, no agreement about the form this messiah would take. Would it be an especially devout Jew blessed by God with the ability to perform miracles? Would it be a literal descendant of the ancient King David\u2014who had been promised an eternal dynasty that the messiah would reclaim? Would it be a great hero from the scriptures returned to life? Or perhaps a divine figure from Heaven, like the powerful archangel Michael? Or the \u201cSon of Man\u201d figure from the apocalypse in the book of Daniel?1<\/a><\/sup>Zetterholm, M., & Klawans, J. (Eds.). (2021). The Oxford Handbook of the Messiah.<\/em> Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pouring-over of the scriptures by the Essenes and earliest Christians for clues about the identity of the messiah\u2014and what actions he would take on Earth\u2014shows that even those Jews most obsessed with the imminent arrival of the messiah had little consensus about any particular details related to him. Of course, most Jews awaiting the messiah probably didn\u2019t bother to sweat the details, trusting that God would make it obvious when the messiah finally showed up. As we\u2019ll see, though, it would remain the case that the occasional Jew would believe he himself was the long-awaited messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of an angel bringing a holy vision to the apostle Paul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But searching the scriptures was not the only method used to gather secret information about the messiah. The Jews had a long history of visions and prophecy, and the Essenes were renowned for both.2<\/a><\/sup>Finkbeiner, D. (2007) A Synopsis on the Essenes from Philo, Josephus, and Pliny the Elder. University of Pennsylvania. https:\/\/ccat.sas.upenn.edu\/rak\/\/courses\/735\/Historiography\/EsseneSynopsis.htm<\/a><\/span> Jumping forward a bit, The Apostle Paul\u2014whose writings from the 50s CE are the earliest written documents in the New Testament\u2014would adamantly avow that everything he knew about Jesus Christ came through visionary experiences, not from any other humans.3<\/a><\/sup>Galatians 1:11-12<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> He also wrote of an apocalyptic vision a colleague of his experienced 14 years earlier. This person visited the third heaven (different levels of Heaven being a hallmark of Jewish apocalypses like those of Enoch). He was, wrote Paul, \u201ccaught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat\u201d.4<\/a><\/sup>2 Corinthians 12:1-4<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the seven epistles of Paul that are widely considered authentic\u2014and from a host of other early Christian writings\u2014it becomes clear that neither Paul nor any of the other earliest Christians had any notion of a Jesus who had recently lived a life on Earth. Jesus\u2019s words are never quoted; not a single story from his life is related\u2014no virgin birth, no magi, no temptation by Satan; no exorcisms; no baptism; no arguments with Pharisees, scribes, or Sadducees; no mention of Mary, Joseph, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, Herod, or Pontius Pilate; no mention of him having any disciples; no miracles mentioned at all; no parables; no teachings of any sort; and no placing of Jesus in any of the earthly localities associated with him in the later gospels such as Galilee, Nazareth, Jerusalem, the Temple, the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, or Calvary.5<\/a><\/sup>Carrier, R. On the Historicity of Christ. (2014). Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of a heavenly Jesus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paul and the other earliest Christian writers also notably never refer to a \u201cSecond Coming\u201d when they refer to Jesus\u2019s imminent arrival at the End Time. They simply speak of his coming, with no sense that it is a return\u2014again revealing their obliviousness to the idea that Jesus had already and very recently come to Earth.6<\/a><\/sup>Carrier, R. On the Historicity of Christ. (2014). Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people\u2014even the non-religious\u2014find all this quite shocking or at least a bit hard to believe. The New Testament places the four gospels at the beginning of its collection of writings, then follows them with the book of Acts, and only after all that do readers get to the epistles of Paul which were written decades earlier. Resultantly, the repeated stories in the gospels of a historical Jesus who recently walked the earth are simply assumed to exist in the background of Paul’s epistles. It’s baselessly assumed that Paul knew several people who had known Jesus while he was still alive. But a close reading of Paul’s letters without “gospel blinders” on makes it clear that Paul never gives any indication he believes that his “Christ Jesus” (as he refers to him) had a recent earthly ministry. For Paul, the messiah is purely a heavenly figure who had yet to ever step foot on Earth, but instead would make his first triumphant visit to Earth to battle the forces of darkness at the end of the world\u2014his Christ Jesus is very similar, in that sense, to a figure like the archangel Michael.7<\/a><\/sup>NOTE: Despite the overwhelming silence of Paul concerning any inkling of a historical Jesus, there are two pieces of evidence that have been claimed to support the notion that Paul knew of a Jesus who had lived on Earth. Galatians 4:4 reads:

\n\n\n\n\u201cBut when the fullness of time came, God sent his son, made from a woman, made under the law, in order to rescue those under the law, in order that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying \u2018Abba, father!\u2019 As a result, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then also an heir by God.\u201d

\n\n\n\nBut as Dr. Richard Carrier points out that in the fuller context of Galatians 3:29-5:1 Paul is making an extended allegory. Jesus, writes Carrier, \u201cwas momentarily born to the allegorical Hagar, the slave woman, which is the Torah law\u2014the old testament\u2014which holds sway in the earthly Jerusalem, so that he could kill off that law with his own death, making it possible for us to be born of the free woman at last. This is what Paul means when he says Jesus was made \u2018under the law\u2019 and \u2018from a woman\u2019; he means Hagar, representing the old law; but we now\u2014like Jesus now\u2014have a new mother: God\u2019s heavenly kingdom.\u201d See: Carrier, R. (2023). On the Historicity of Jesus: Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt. United Kingdom: Sheffield Phoenix Press Limited.

\n\n\n\nEven if Carrier is wrong here, a simple look at Revelation 12 shows that early Christians could believe that a woman could give birth in the firmament to a son that was spirited up to heaven and becomes the End Times vengeful messiah, so there is no reason that Paul wouldn\u2019t have a birth in heaven or the firmament in mind here.

\n\n\n\nIn his letters, Paul also sometimes uses an odd phrase often translated as \u201caccording to the flesh\u201d when describing God\u2019s offering of his son as a sacrifice. This phrase in Greek, kata sarka, can also have the connotation of \u201clike flesh\u201d or \u201cin the realm of the flesh\u201d which are quite compatible with a theology as presented in the Ascension of Isaiah and elsewhere in Paul\u2019s letters: namely, that Jesus descended through the heavens putting on the guise of angels and then put on flesh when he reached the firmament above the earth where he was sacrificed by demons. For a thorough rebuttal of claims that Paul\u2019s letters contain evidence he knew of a human Jesus, see: Doherty, E. (2009). Jesus: Neither God Nor Man – The Case for a Mythical Jesus. Age of Reason Publications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Philo and the Son of God<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we can more firmly put our finger on the moment a new religion came into being, there are two sets of writings to consider whose theological developments at the start of the first century CE are crucial to an adequate understanding of the milieu out of which Christianity came into being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born around 20 BCE in Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, a Jewish man named Philo Judaeus became a very popular and influential philosopher and prolific writer\u2014many of whose works survive to this day. There was by this time a large, well-established population of Jews living in Alexandria who absorbed much of the Greek culture that surrounded them there.8<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021). Philo Judaeus<\/em>. Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philo-Judaeus<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Philo Judaeus of Alexandria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Philo is best known for representing the pinnacle of a movement aiming to combine Greek philosophy and Jewish religion. He is the first known author to systematically attempt to draw out the allegorical meanings of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Often this took the form of taking passages from the scriptures that were troublesome or disturbing to Greek sensibilities and assigning more palatable\u2014even opposite-meaning interpretations influenced by Pythagoreanism and Stoicism. And because he deemed so much of the scriptures allegorical in nature, Philo held that it was not incumbent upon Jews to follow the literal meaning of the Laws of Moses such as the kosher food laws and circumcision.9<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021). Philo Judaeus<\/em>. Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philo-Judaeus<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many of the Greek philosophers of the time, Philo characterized God as entirely transcendent, universal, unchanging, and largely ineffable. This refined theology stood in stark contrast to the presentation of God in the Jewish scriptures which, at every turn, plainly describe Yahweh as being active in the material world in a very direct way, showing favor and blessings to some, while cursing and smiting entire nations. The various religions that posit this sort of unknowable God\u2014so distant from humankind as to be unreachable\u2014tend to rely on the belief in some sort of intermediary figure(s) to bridge this otherwise uncrossable gap so that believers are not entirely cut off from their creator.10<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021). Philo Judaeus<\/em>. Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philo-Judaeus<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Philo\u2019s view, it isn\u2019t that God made a choice not to interact with humans, it\u2019s that such contact is simply impossible. Being composed of ultimate divine goodness or \u201cperfect matter\u201d, God’s nature is completely incompatible with the material world and its inherent wickedness (\u201cimperfect matter\u201d). Like several \u201cgnostic\u201d religions that would arise in his wake, Philo solved this conundrum by positing that God\u2019s divine attributes, while still a part of God, could act independently within the material world as a sort of shadow, reflection, or extension of God himself. Expanding on passages of the scriptures that seem to treat \u201cGod\u2019s word\u201d as acting semi-independently of God, Philo called this intermediary being the Logos (\u201cword\u201d)\u2014a term borrowed from Greek philosophy.11<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021). Philo Judaeus<\/em>. Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philo-Judaeus<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the ineffable God and his intermediary Son<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This Logos, Philo posited, has existed with God since time immemorial. God\u2019s creation of the world was carried out through the Logos who then created the four primal elements out of primordial chaos. This Logos is also described as acting as a sort of bond or glue holding all of creation together. Philo at times uses other names and descriptors for the Logos. These include  the \u201celdest angel\u201d, \u201csecond to God\u201d, the \u201carchangel of many names\u201d, \u201cheavenly man\u201d (or \u201cheavenly Adam\u201d since \u201cAdam\u201d means \u201cman\u201d), the \u201chigh priest\u201d, and \u201cthe firstborn Son of God\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the obvious and strong influence of Greek thought on Philo\u2019s conceptions, his views were widely revered and influential among Jews, and almost certainly contributed directly to the origin of Christianity by way of the Essenes and their related ascetic communities in Egypt known as the Therapeutae, both of whom Philo praises in his works. This latter group is described as existing in communities all around the world, but largely concentrated near Alexandria. Leading secluded, contemplative lives, they (like Philo and the Essenes) study the scriptures to discover their hidden allegorical meanings. These Therapeutae, though they clearly had existed for several decades BCE if not longer, would later be considered by a Church historian of the 300s named Eusebius to have been the first Christian monks. 12<\/a><\/sup>Kohler, K. Therapeutae. Jewish Encyclopedia. https:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/articles\/14366-therapeutae<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A first century CE Jewish historian also later described a people from the time of Philo he calls the Maghariya (\u201cPeople of the Caves\u201d) who stored their sacred writings in the caves of the hills of Judah and its environs, and may have lived in these caves as well. The sect is said to have believed that God was too sublime to mingle with matter, and that therefore a great angel acted as an intermediary power. They are also said to have composed their own peculiar commentaries of the books of Hebrew scripture, and used their own calendar which aligns with that found in the book of Jubilees<\/em>.13<\/a><\/sup>Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021). Philo Judaeus<\/em>. Encyclopedia Britannica<\/em>. https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philo-Judaeus<\/span> All of these are clear markers of the Essene communities and the cave dwellings also known to house zealous anti-Roman fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Ascension of Isaiah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of the prophet Isaiah having an ecstatic vision<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The prophet Isaiah was one of the most popular scriptural figures among the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. A fascinating document survives from this era known as The Ascension of Isaiah<\/em>, and although it was not found among the Scrolls, its unique worldview and particular obsessions clearly mark it as being Essene in origin. Modern scholars have been perplexed by the Ascension<\/em>\u2014which has come down to us only in a form obviously altered in parts by later Christians. But scholars recognize that it is easy enough to bracket out these later additions, and when one does, what remains may be the closest we\u2019ll ever get to the original Essene vision that birthed Christianity.14<\/a><\/sup>Knight, J. (1995). The Ascension of Isaiah. Sheffield Academic Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Isaiah ascending to heaven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The story presented in The Ascension of Isaiah<\/em> is set in the 600s BCE, when Judah was under the rule of King Hezekiah. One day the prophet Isaiah comes to visit the king, and while \u201cspeaking in the Holy Spirit\u201d, he has an extended trance-like vision in which an angel of indescribable glory comes to him from the seventh heaven and lifts him up into the firmament\u2014the area of materiality believed to exist between the Earth and the Moon. Here Isaiah sees Sammael\u2014a top-ranked demon featured in The Book of Watchers<\/em>\u2014who is here equated with Satan. His great host of demons fill the sky and are all fighting one another out of envy. The angel explains that this war among them has been going on since the world began, and will continue until \u201che that you shall see will come and destroy them.\u201d15<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the ancient worldview of a firmament filled with demons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leaving the firmament behind, Isaiah and the angel ascend to the first heaven. Here the prophet sees multitudes of angels of two different ranks, all of whom are singing praises. The angel informs Isaiah that the praises are directed toward \u201che who sits on the throne in the seventh heaven\u201d, and also to \u201cHis Beloved\u201d\u2014adding that the latter figure is the reason the angel has been sent to Isaiah.16<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist diagram of the seven heavens of ancient cosmology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The third, fourth, and fifth heavens are all full of even higher ranked angels who are also singing praises of the same two figures. At this point Isaiah also takes a moment to offer his praise to \u201cthe Only-begotten who dwelleth in the heavens, whose name is not known to any flesh.\u201d The sixth heaven is significantly more glorious still, and its light makes the previous heavens seem like darkness by comparison. Here the angels are explained to be directed by the power of the seventh heaven\u2014by God and \u201cthe Elect One, whose name has not been made known, and none of the heavens can learn His name.\u201d17<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a preview of things to come, the angel lets on that this Elect One will undergo successive transformations until he resembles human form. He tells Isaiah that no one who has visited heaven and returned to Earth has ever been shown what he is being shown. Only he has been permitted to see the Lord. Isaiah then joins those in the sixth heaven in singing praises to \u201cHighest Father, His Beloved the Christ, and the Holy Spirit\u201d. The angel also mentions that His Beloved will be called \u201cSon\u201d by those on Earth.18<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Adam and Eve in the seventh level of heaven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally ascending to the seventh heaven, the angel informs Isaiah that he has been permitted to visit this place by \u201cthy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called \u2018Jesus\u2019 in the world\u201d, adding that \u201cHis name you cannot hear until you have ascended out of your body.\u201d At this highest level of heaven, Isaiah spots such Biblical heroes as Adam, Abel, Seth, and Enoch. When Isaiah asks why these people have not yet received the crowns and garments of glory, he is told such things will not be received until \u201cthe Beloved will descend in the form in which you will see Him descend into the world in the Last Days\u2014the Lord, who will be called Christ.\u201d The angel tells him that Christ will descend and be made into a form like Isaiah, and will be taken to be a man of flesh.19<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His descent will be completely secret, hidden even from those in the heavens, so that no one will realize who he is. When he reaches the firmament, Satan\u2014whom the angel refers to as \u201cthe god of that world\u201d\u2014and his demons \u201cwill crucify Him on a tree, and will slay Him not knowing who He is\u201d. Though the mechanics of this are left unexplained, this crucifixion will cause Christ to \u201cplunder the angel of death\u201d. After three days he will rise and spend a year and a half in that place\u2014the firmament, that is; there is still no notion of Jesus visiting Earth itself\u2014this particular span of time being a fulfillment of a prophecy from the book of Daniel. He will then then ascend back to heaven and \u201cmany of the righteous will ascend with Him\u201d.20<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Lord Christ being crucified in the firmament by Satan and his demons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah inquires about crowns and garments he sees in the seventh heaven, and is told that they are reserved for those who will believe in That One and believe in His cross. There in the seventh heaven, \u201cthe Lord\u201d is described at times as an angel of the highest possible rank. At this point, Isaiah is instructed to worship him. He is then instructed to worship a \u201csecond angel\u201d standing with the Lord who is identified as \u201cthe angel of the Holy Spirit\u201d. This figure, it is said, will be called the Holy Spirit by all God\u2019s righteous, and he will \u201crest in His holy ones.\u201d The Lord and the \u201cangel of the Spirit\u201d then offer worship and praise to God.21<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Descent of the Lord Christ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of God instructing Lord Jesus concerning his descent to the firmament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The angel has now told Isaiah what Christ\u2019s descent to the firmament will be like, but this is immediately followed by Isaiah witnessing the descent itself as well. He hears \u201cthe Most High, the Father of my Lord, as he said to my Lord Christ, who will be called Jesus, \u2018Go out and descend through all the heavens. You shall descend through the firmament and through that world as far as the angel who is in the realm of the dead, but you shall not go as far as Hell.\u2019\u201d Lord Christ is instructed by God to transform his appearance to match those of the beings in each of the lower heavens, and then to take on the form of those in the firmament, then like those in the realm of the dead so that none will recognize he is the Lord.22<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Lord Jesus disguising himself to descend undetected through the heavens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite having apparently yielded the firmament to Satan and his demons since the world was created, God takes them to task for saying to each other \u201cWe alone are, and there is no one besides us.\u201d Lord Jesus is then instructed to judge and destroy \u201cthe princes and the angels and the gods of that world\u201d, and then ascend back to heaven in his full glory to sit at God\u2019s right hand, after which \u201cthe princes and the powers of that world will worship you.\u201d23<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord dutifully begins his descent through each of the heavens. At each, he transforms his appearance so as to remain incognito. Between the lower levels of Heaven, there are checkpoints, and The Lord supplies the angelic guards at each with the correct passwords to be granted passage and continue his journey. When he arrives at the firmament \u201cwhere the prince of this world dwells\u201d, The Lord transforms his appearance again to match the \u201cangels of the air\u201d, and attempts to supply a password for entry, but the demons here are too distracted by arguing and fighting amongst themselves to even notice him.24<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is at this point in the Ascension<\/em>\u2014as it comes down to us\u2014that a few paragraphs written significantly later have been inserted into the text, breaking the flow of the narrative and using a noticeably different writing style. A brief capsule summary of Jesus\u2019s ministry on Earth as presented in the later-written gospels has been added. But as we have seen, the original text up to this point does not give any indication at all that \u201cThe Lord\u201d will have any sort of life or career among humans on Earth. The angel has made clear in advance that The Lord will simply descend, be crucified in the firmament above Earth by Satan and the \u201cangels of the air\u201d, and that this act will somehow lead to the immediate and complete defeat of the forces of darkness. Then once the demons realize who The Lord is, they will be shocked and begin to worship him.25<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Paul’s vision of the heavenly Jesus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we will see, just about every aspect of the peculiar-sounding theology of The Ascension of Isaiah<\/em> is actually shared by the Apostle Paul\u2014whose epistles written in the 50s CE predate the gospels by decades. Paul too shared the doctrine that Christ\u2019s very existence was a kept secret from mankind from the creation of the world up until the present moment26<\/a><\/sup>Romans 16:25<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span>\u2014the beginning of the End Times\u2014when apostles like himself first became aware of The Lord through visionary experiences.27<\/a><\/sup>Ephesians 3:2-4<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> He too taught that the Lord descended from Heaven to the firmament where, in that place, he was crucified by Satan and his demons.28<\/a><\/sup>Moses, R.E. (2014). Practices of Power: Revisiting the Principalities and Powers in the Pauline Letters. Augsburg Fortress Publishers.<\/span> And Paul too teaches that the Lord was not bestowed with the name \u201cJesus\u201d or the title \u201cthe Son of God\u201d until after being resurrected and having ascended back to Heaven.29<\/a><\/sup>Philippians 2:8-10<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as previously noted, and by now made clear, Paul betrays no notion of believing Jesus walked among humans on Earth, much less that such a thing occurred in the very recent past. The incredible value of the oft-overlooked Ascension <\/em>is that, while Paul\u2019s core understanding of Christ and his saving actions can mostly be pieced together from passages throughout his epistles, this one document lays out a theology nearly identical to Paul\u2019s in a very straightforward way, vastly improving our understanding of what the earliest Christians believed and preached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians who converted to the faith in later decades, however\u2014after the gospels had popularized the notion of an earthly Jesus\u2014must have puzzled at the Ascension<\/em>. Clearly it was a Christian work, but how could its author have skipped right over The Lord\u2019s life and ministry on Earth, somehow not even deeming it worth a single mention? It may have seemed as though part of the document was missing. Such a mindset would explain the addition of the several paragraphs awkwardly added to the text at a later date which attempt to harmonize the Ascension <\/em>with the gospels written some 30 to 60 years later. (Note: The scholarly consensus for the dating of The Ascension of Isaiah is that its original form was in place by at least<\/em> 150 CE,30<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span> though how much earlier its core layer was composed has only been guessed at. My own suggestion of this writing being the basis of Paul’s gospel places it before 50 CE, and is based solely on its content which, with its depiction of a strictly heavenly Jesus Christ, perfectly fits into place like a missing puzzle piece in this formative era of the faith\u2014far more so than it would at any later date.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Martyrdom of Isaiah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another section of the Ascension <\/em>deals with the prophet Isaiah\u2019s death. King Hezekiah summons his only son Manasseh to hear the prophet Isaiah recount his heavenly vision. Isaiah, the text says, beheld the Judgment to come; the destruction of the world; the eternal tortures of Hell; the transformation, persecution, and ascension of \u201cthe Beloved\u201d; and the \u201cprince of this world and his angels, archons, and powers\u201d.31<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span> This latter set of terms matches Paul\u2019s language exactly\u2014he too writes of \u201carchons and powers\u201d who crucified the Lord, and that they never would have done so if his identity was not kept hidden from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the being known as Beliar, Belial, and Satan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah then takes king Hezekiah aside and informs him that his son Manasseh will abandon his religion and become a follower of Beliar\u2014and that Beliar will dwell inside him.32<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span> At the dawn of Christianity, the name \u201cSatan\u201d had not been settled on for the most powerful among the demons. Older names like Sammael from The Book of Watchers<\/em> are still used at times here in the Ascension<\/em>.33<\/a><\/sup>De La Torre, M. & Hernandez, A. (2011). The Quest for the Historical Satan. Fortress Press.<\/span> In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the most common name used is \u201cBelial\u201d, though occasionally we see the variant \u201cBeliar\u201d instead. The Ascension <\/em>uses \u201cBeliar\u201d 12 times and \u201cSatan\u201d 7 times. Paul speaks of \u201cBeliar\u201d once and \u201cSatan\u201d 10 times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet goes on to tell the king that his son Manasseh will kill him\u2014Isaiah, that is\u2014by sawing him in two. Hezekiah is devastated and vows to kill his own son before this can come about. But Isaiah tells him The Beloved won\u2019t let that happen, and that he\u2019s ready to fulfill his calling to suffer a fate like that of The Beloved. Years pass, Hezekiah dies, and his son Manasseh succeeds him and, as prophesied, serves \u201cthe angel of lawlessness\u201d Beliar, who is \u201cthe ruler of this world\u201d. Soon all Jerusalem is full of witchcraft and fornication.34<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the execution of the prophet Isaiah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a description that closely mirrors the history of the Zadokites\/Essenes, Isaiah and a large band of prophets flee the wickedness happening in Jerusalem, leaving the city to dwell in the desert where they live like the poor, wearing camel hair loincloths, and eating nothing but gathered herbs. Eventually a false prophet arises in Jerusalem and makes spurious accusations against Isaiah to King Manasseh. On this pretense, the venerable prophet Isaiah is dragged in front of the king, and is executed. As he is being sawn in half, Isaiah neither weeps nor cries out. He continuously speaks through the Holy Spirit before finally cursing and damning Manasseh and the false prophet and then dying.35<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This section of the Ascension of Isaiah also includes a section of text that is widely recognized as having been inserted by a later author. It displays clear knowledge of the gospels and the book of Revelation, and offers something of a capsule summary of the events of the End Times taken from those later writings.36<\/a><\/sup>The Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian Writings. https:\/\/www.earlychristianwritings.com\/text\/ascension.html<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Continue Reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter 9: Peter, James, and Paul<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Footnotes<\/h3>