The Two Powers of Heaven
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 37:47
0 ratings
· 94 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Did Jesus Claim to be God?
David Wood vs Alex O'Connor
Daniel Boyarin, writes:
“The ideas of trinity and incarnation, or certainly the germs of those ideas, were already present among Jewish believers well before Jesus came on the scene to incarnate in himself ,as it were, those theological notions, and take up his messianic calling.”
So he’s saying that the ideas were there paving the way for Jesus who embodied them.
So, who's Daniel Boyarin to say that Christian ideas like the trinity and the incarnation were already present in some form in first century Judaism?
is he a Christian apologist?
No, he's a scholar of rabbinic Judaism.
He's a Talmud scholar that points out that a lot of the beliefs we now think of as distinctively Christian actually weren't,
since these ideas were embedded in first century Jewish culture .
but as Christianity spread,
it became dominated by gentile Christians who tended to lose touch with the Jewish framework
and within Judaism they were making changes in the second century in response to the rise of Christianity.
Basically, the rabbis tended to weed out certain ideas that had once been familiar in Judaism
but were then being adopted by Christians .
So the rabbis wanted to clearly distinguish Judaism from Christianity.
And so, some of the ideas that were present in first century Judaism were soon deemed heretical,
And as time went on, Christians lost touch with the Jewish framework of early Christianity
especially as Jews abandoned some of the Jewish ideas that became part of Christianity.
The result is that today it's easy for us to miss a few things when we're reading the Bible.
Allan Segal, aJewish scholar,
drew attention to The Two Powers In Heaven Problem,
in his 1977 book Two Powers in Heaven,
and lots of people especially Christians have been interested in the topic ever since.
So here's the idea in a nutshell.
The Old Testament is very clear that there's one true God
but there are numerous passages in the Old Testament where we see two divine figures
And there are tons of these:
In the Old Testament,
sometimes God seems to be in two different places
and doing two different things.
For example, in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
the Lord appears to Abraham and tells him that he's going down to Sodom and Gomorrah to see firsthand how bad the people are
so he goes down to Sodom and Gomorrah and what happens?
24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
It sounds like there are two lords here.
8 For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: 9 “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 11 And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
The Lord Almighty was sent by the Lord Almighty
So Yahweh rains down fire from Yahweh,
and Yahweh is sent by Yahweh - and there are plenty of passages like these.
Then we have a mysterious figure called the angel of the Lord.
Whatever you think of when you think about angels just get rid of that because the angel of the Lord is no ordinary angel
because this angel is somehow the Lord
Remember that angel just means messenger.
In Hebrew it can refer to a human messenger a spirit messenger or in this case the Lord himself.
Look at Judges 6
The angel of the Lord came and sat down to talk to Gideon
The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon v. 11-12
Then it switches to the Lord turned to him v. 14
The Lord answered - and then it goes back to the angel of the Lord.
Then when Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord he exclaimed
"Alas sovereign Lord, I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face." v. 22-23
But the Lord said to him "Peace do not be afraid you are not going to die.”
If you see the Lord in all his glory you're dead
but if you see the angel of the Lord, who is somehow the Lord you might survive."
1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.
Another example of this in Genesis 48:15-16
15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
So, the God and the angel are all referring to the same being
The angel is God, but the angel is the messenger of God
This is all over the place in the Old Testament from Genesis all the way to the prophets
we just don't pay attention to it when we're reading.
But there were ancient Jews who paid very close attention to passages like these
and they realized that something very very strange is going on.
There's one God but there were two powers two authorities in heaven
And if you put all of the passages together it seems like there's God you can't be around, because his presence would destroy you,
and God you can be around somehow…
So there's God you can't be around and God you can be around.
And the God you can't be around is distinct from the God you can be around,
and they interact with each other as one sends the other,
and yet they're both God.
And of course, this was all very very confusing to first century Jews.
But if there's one God, then why are there two powers in heaven?
Why are there two powers who both act like God
And the Jews tried to deal with this problem in a number of ways,
but mostly they were confused.
And then Jesus came along and He says:
“You know those two powers that you've been reading about in the scriptures? You know those two powers that you're so confused by? I can tell you about those two powers because I'm one of them.”
And this is the primary way Jesus claims to be God - and as modern readers, we miss most of it! - Cults
It's the primary way his followers claim that he's God
and it's a primary issue that enrages his opponents.
But did Jesus really claim to be one of the two powers in heaven?
Jesus claims to be one of the two powers in heaven in multiple ways
The most familiar is the father son language He uses.
Jesus claims to be the son of God.
Now someone can be a son of God in various ways,
in the Bible Matthew 5 says, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
But Jesus claims to be the son of God in a unique divine sense.
One example is Matthew 11:27, “
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
This should sound somewhat similar to the old testament idea that there's God you can't be around and God you can be around.
Two powers: father and son, and Jesus is the son.
In Mark 12, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked:
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
David himself calls him Lord, so how then can he be his son?
So, whose son is the Messiah?
He's the son of David, but David calls the Messiah his Lord.
How many lords do we have here?
“The Lord said to my Lord.”
According to Jesus, the second Lord here, the Lord of King David, is the Messiah.
So, we've got two powers in heaven and Jesus is one of them
Holy Spirit is there too
In Mark 14, again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ the son of the blessed?”
62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
And then the high priest tore his garments and said,
“What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy what is your decision?
And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Why do the enemies say this is blasphemy and why do they do tear their garments?
So, there's the power which sounds like God, and there's the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.
How many powers in heaven I see two here and Jesus claims to be one of them.
So who is Jesus claiming to be at his Jewish trial?
He's claiming to be the son of man prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14,
And as we saw today from that passage:
There's the ancient of days “God.”
but there's also the son of man
who will be worshiped by all nations, whose dominion is everlasting, and who comes with the clouds.
In the Old Testament, Yahweh is the one who rides the clouds - humans don't and angels don't
1 Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
In Psalm 104 the Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment
he stretches out the heavens like a tent
and lays the beams of his upper chambers on the waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.”
So God comes with the clouds
which is His Shekinah Glory.
So we've got the ancient of days,
who sounds like God,
and we've got the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven who also sounds like God.
So yeah, two powers in heaven, and Jesus claims to be one of them.
And Jesus claims to be one of the two powers in heaven multiple times multiple ways in multiple sources
Jesus says a lot more than that, but what does Jesus do?
Jesus judges the world.
In the Psalm 9:7-8, David says
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.
Who's the judge here?
Yahweh.
But in Matthew 25:31-32, Jesus declares:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Jesus goes on to say that he will admit certain people into heaven and cast others into hell.
But why is Jesus the final judge?
He tells us in John 5:22-23
22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
The point is:
If you don't honor the God you can be around you don't honor God you can't be around.
Jesus also raises the dead at the resurrection.
According to the Old Testament Yahweh is the one who raises the dead.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
But Jesus says He's the one who raises the dead at the resurrection.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
So Jesus claims by what he says and what he does
that he's one of these two powers in heaven, and that means he's claiming to be God.
And Jesus’ followers got the message.
How do his followers react?
What do the early Christians say?
In Philippians 2, Paul quotes an early Christian song or poem or creed about Jesus goes like this.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What's the name that is above every name? Yahweh
“And at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
This is a reference to Isaiah 45.
18 For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Here, Yahweh says,"I am the Lord and there is no other."
Then down in verse 23 says,
23 …To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
And the early Christians said "That's Jesus."
So Jesus was in very nature God, then he humbled himself, by becoming obedient to death, and then God exalted Him.
So again, two powers.
And Jesus is one of them.
Paul quotes this and obviously agrees with it,
but look at how Paul describes the two powers in 1 Corinthians 8:6.
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
There is one God, the Father,
“So, you see Jesus can't be God because there only one God.”
Well keep reading: “And one Lord Jesus Christ.”
Does that mean that Jesus is Lord but the Father isn't?
All Paul does here is take two titles for God and says,
"I'll call the father God and Jesus Lord."
Two powers and Jesus is one of them.
Then we have John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
There's God and there's the Word, but the word was God.
How many powers?
Two.
And Jesus is one of them.
Then, later in the same chapter, John 1:18 says:
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Again 2 powers of heaven.
Finally Hebrews 1.
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
The Father worships the Son.
Great verse for mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
But in all of these verses, it sure sounds like two divine powers.
Which is exactly what the early Christians say.
And to think this was just a really big misunderstandings, is beyond silly.
The early Christians:
1. Worship Him (Matthew 14:33, 28:9; Luke 24:52)
2. Pray to Him (Acts :24-25, 7:59; 1 Corinthians 16:22).
3. They sing hymns to and about Him (Ephesians 2:8-10).
4. They baptize in His name (Matthew 28:19; Acts 19:5).
5. They compose liturgy and doxologies to honor and praise Him (1 Corinthians 16:22; Romans 16:25-27).
In other words they give Jesus the full array of religious honors.
What could convince a bunch of first century Jews that a carpenter from Nazareth was one of the two powers in heaven?
The resurrection.
