The title “Son of Man,” a title that Jesus often uses to address himself in the Gospels, has an extensive history of use in both the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish literature. “Son of man” is a common Semitic expression that appears to be used to refer to refer to any human being. In Ezekiel, the prophet is repeatedly referred to as “son of man.” In Psalm 80:17, it seems to have a somewhat more specific use:  ”Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, On the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.” The person referred to seems to be not just any human being, but a  specific one that has been chosen by God to stand at his right hand.  

In later Jewish texts, the title “son of man” begins to increasingly be used to identify divine figures that have the appearance of humans. We see this use most famously in the Book of Daniel.  Dan 7 describes “one like a son of man” riding on the clouds, coming to meet the Ancient of Days.  The identity of this “son of man” figure is one of the biggest questions in biblical studies.  The images presented by Daniel are very similar to the Ugaritic myths of Baal, the victorious rider of the clouds, and El, the “father of days.” However, it is certainly a stretch to say that  Daniel is referring to Baal here, but is most likely identifying a divine figure of Jewish tradition. Many scholars, including Collins and Nickelsburg, conclude that figure portrayed must be an angelic deliverer, whom they identify as the archangel Michael (note: I don’t agree with this conclusion).  (See Mark 14:62 and Acts 7:54–57 in conjunction with Psalm 80:17 and Daniel 7; also Dan. 3:25 has an interesting OT reference to “the Son of God”)

The next major instance of the “son of man” motif is in the Book of Similitudes of 1 Enoch. He is apparently a divine figure located in heaven who predates the Creation, but whose main functions are eschatological. He appears to have both human an angelic characteristics and is debatedly associated with the figure of Enoch in 1 Enoch 71.  Besides “son of man,” this figure is also called “righteous one,” “chosen one,” and “Messiah.” 

Other Jewish works, such as 2 Esdras, 2 Baruch, and Wisdom of Solomon, seem to provide evidence that the “son of man” figure was to be a messianic savior and judge who would be persecuted but also victorious. 

It is difficult to know how ancient the reference to “son of man” as divine being is.  There is a possibility that this usage came about anciently based on an anthropomorphic view of deity.  For Latter-day Saints, the Son of Man title for Christ makes sense due to the reference in Moses 6:57 to “Man of Holiness” as a name for God.  Jesus Christ was the Son of “The Man.”  Interestingly, the Greek term “ho anthropos” (the man) is used in some Jewish texts to refer to Adam, but also to God — the archetypical Man.

Topic: Enochic Literature

Dr. Silviu Bunta (PhD, Marquette University) presiding

First Presenter: Name Unknown

The book of 1 Enoch describes a scene in which Enoch is shown a group of seven mountains. The middle mountain is God’s throne–the mountain of judgment

The other mountains are thrones of the divine entourage–seats for the archangels

There are ancient traditions in the Ancient Near East that mountains are thrones-proliferation of this idea in Second Temple period

1 Enoch 18:6-8—Seven curious mountains in a place that burns day and night
Enoch is shown mountains-they form a right angle in their arrangement-covered with precious stones

The Tree of Life is at the base of God’s mountain/throne

The other mountains could be for the archangels –ch. 9, 10, 20-archangels who assist in judgment, and who, like God, merit thrones.

Mountains are often sacred in ancient literature
–Baal on Mt. Saphon–El ruled on another mountain
–God in Bible is encountered at Sinai and Zion
–Mt. Hermon is axis mundi–place of ascent and descent (Watchers descend, Jesus ascends from there)
–Enoch ch. 22–There is a mountain of the dead

26:1-There is a holy mountain at the center of the earth, with holy water flowing

God has a divine council– see Ugartic texts–council made up of sons of the Holy One
Deut. 33 -Yahweh in the midst of his entourage
Psalm 89 -
Book of Watchers-angels are prominent – Michael, Sariel, Raphael, and Gabriel
Other places there are seven angels-angels of powers or archangels
Each is in charge of some portion of the cosmos/world
Michael is over mankind/nations
These angels are probably the occupants of the heavenly thrones

Seven Archangels Icon

Thrones = royal power/judgment
Isa. 14-divinities enthroned
Isa. 2/ Micah 3 — Temple on Mt. Zion draws all nations for judgment

Zoroastrian tradition is very similar to Enoch

Late Antiquity- Dan. 7:9–10 —multiple thrones for those who will judge

Animal Apocalypse (1 Enoch) — throne, open books-7 archangels are there to help punish watchers
Enoch/Metatron sits on throne like God’s
Ascension of Isaiah — thrones on each level of heaven
There is a rank of angels called “thrones”

12 apostles will sit on 12 thrones to judge Israel
Rev. 20:4 –individuals enthroned in millennial kingdom

3 Enoch 16 — Metatron punished after Aher thinks there are “two powers” in Heaven, because Metatron is sitting on a throne (this is a Jewish polemic against the “two powers in heaven” belief)
1 Enoch 24-25 — One throne is for God, leaving only 6 thrones for angels –but there are usually seven archangels mentioned in the texts
–Some Enochic texts speak of 6 archangels-this tradition is not fixed
Remiel is missing in rest of text-perhaps he shouldn’t be there
6 angels of destruction in Ezekiel 9

( My note: Is it possible that the seventh angel is Yahweh himself?)

Could the seven thrones be a reference to the Pleaides? Sun, moon, and 5 visible planets

Temple signifies created order — represented in the above luminaries

“One of the angels may be a high angel sitting on the throne of God” (Nickelsburg’s comment)

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – — – - – - -

Second Speaker: Grant Macaskill

Enoch receives knowledge of sacred truths of creation and history
This is the basis for Enoch’s books and his teachings to his sons

Creation material is very recentional (revised or edited)
Divine beings Adoil and Adukhas are disintegrated and used as material for creation

As Enoch ascends into heaven, he sees the nature of the cosmos

Ethic material is also important
–God represented as creator and respect due to him

The Eschatological system is built into the creation

There are 7 crystalline circles on which heavenly bodies move

1 Enoch ch. 29:4-6 — Satanael’s rebellion and role in Adam’s fall

Adam is made of 7 elements and given 7 senses

Adam is made of two natures-visible and invisible

We may expect Enoch to follow the Genesis creation story — but it doesn’t
–no mention of Sabbath in structure of creation
–doesn’t mention days of creation

27:3 — each circle of stars occupies a heaven of its own
The Sun passes along the 7 celestial circles

Sataniel wanted to place his throne above God’s-he was thrown out
200 Watchers (angels) are thrown out with him
This story leaves out Azazel and Uziah (the evil leaders of the rebellious angels)
Isa. 14 –
His mind was changed to evil
Devil will become a demon because he fled, creating heaven (?) Maybe this is a Bogomil interpolation with the idea that Satan creates his own heaven

Ethical material has no mention of Satan after ch. 31
–maybe his presence in creation narrative is an interpolation

The Building Blocks of Enoch as the Son of Man

“You are the Son of Man” — 1 En 71:14 — is this a surprise? Does he merge with a twin who he has been looking at? (a la Orlov)

Is this connected to later traditions of exaltation of Enoch? (becoming Metatron?)

Some scholars take Son of Man as simply “human being”
–Enoch is not simply a human being –secrets of heaven would be barred to a human “son of man”

Declaration of Enoch as Son of Man goes on to tell of significance of this Son of Man

Option: His name exalted “before” Son of Man, but he is distinct from that figure

Righteous One, Chosen One, Son of Man-all these titles are based on biblical tradition

1 Enoch 71 has Enoch as more exalted than ch. 22

2 Enoch has Enoch exalted to position of archangel Metatron

Enoch as the angel Metatron

Heavenly double or counterpart (theory made popular by Andrei Orlov) — maybe this explains what Enoch is seeing

Is there anything from Book of Watchers that relates to ch. 71?  Enoch’s approach to the throne really has no relation to Daniel 7.

Enoch is a privileged scribe and also functions as judge
–ch. 12-Enoch is scribe of righteousness-pronounces judgment on Watchers

Scribe is a title as well as a function-his function is to formalize charges against watchers
—he is called Man of Righteousness
In Book of Giants, he is called Scribe of Distinction-he is the one who announces divine judgment to giants

He is called Judge of all the Earth

Jubilees 4 –Enoch is first to learn to read/write

What does his role as scribe have anything to do with 1 Enoch 71?

In Similitudes, Enoch doesn’t actually ever write-he just sees visions
–not called scribe, but still has functions of scribe

Ch. 12-scribe and righteous man-gives judgment

Animal Apocalypse – 70 shepherds -”another one” called to make a record of all the wrong things they do
–”the man who had been recording the names of the shepherds”-opens book of destruction before Lord
–The scribe is set on the throne for the Lord-he is probably one of the archangels
–this scribe is identified with Enoch himself-he is a human-like vice regent of God

Argument can be made for dynamic within Enoch materials that would make identification of Enoch with Son of Man conceivable.

Last verse of Ezek. 34 supports this

(James Davila comment) “This does seem to relate to Daniel 7, and also Ezekiel being called ’son of Man’”

(Nickelsburg comment) “Son of Man hidden before creation –how can Enoch be Son of Man?”

Third Speaker: Daphna Arbel

Topic: 3 Enoch

Metatron as highest of archangels-all princes of other orders fear him

3 Enoch 17

Metatron is the supreme angelic figure

However, some traditions have these angelic orders as diviners, oracles, scribes

Why is the angel Metatron being associated with diviners?

Metatron

Mesopotamian scribe/diviner-”The Art of the Scribe” -a consistent body of tradition that lasted into late antiquity

–Secrets of God’s knowledge of past, present, and future
–Qualified diviners could read these secrets in natural phenomena-in coded messages
–Tablets of Destiny can be read these
–”Ritual of the Diviner” – Diviner participates in the divine council in role as judge
–sits on throne and makes pronouncements

–There was a form of secrecy involved –secrets revealed only to initiated diviners

Can Enoch/Metatron be seen in light of this tradition?

Divine secrets have to do with God’s creation
—orders of nature revealed to Enoch –all is before God and was revealed to Enoch

Natural, cosmological, astronomical knowledge passed on to him — he sees the writings engraved that are associated with these phenomena

Creation accomplished by letters –letters are inseparable from natural phenomena

All generations printed on pargod/veil that is before the Lord
–veil functions here as tablets of destiny
–past, present, and future depicted on veil

3 Enoch contains many echoes to the Mesopotamian diviner scribes

"Worship of the Moon God. Cylinder-seal of Khashkhamer, patesi of Ishkun-Sin (in North Babylonia), and vassal of Ur-Engur, king of Ur (c. 2400 BC) (British Museum)"

3 Enoch is probably polemical against these types of diviners — he is greater than other divinatory specialists

3 Enoch likely redacted in Babylon where these figures would have been prominent

Rabbis were probably interested in astronomical/cosmological understandings as well

Possible that this is polemic against Mandaean diviners

While we usually consider the Book of Revelation as the only real “apocalyptic” text in the New Testament, the Synoptic Gospels–Matthew, Mark, and Luke–are full of apocalyptic themes for those who have eyes to see them. For much of the past century, there have been serious debates in the field of New Testament studies over the nature and origin of some of the more mysterious passages in the Gospels.  The work of Johannes Weiss, Albert Schweitzer, and Rudolph Bultmann, among man others, helped establish the popular theory that the focus of Jesus’ teachings was largely eschatological–or that he was focused on clamactic events/changes that would happen in the end times. This perspective was very similar to that of the earlier Jewish apocalyptic texts. In fact, many events and teachings from the life of Jesus, as recorded in the synoptic Gospels, seem to follow very closely the same patterns and themes found in these texts.  I believe that the apocalyptic genre has its roots in ancient temple beliefs/rituals and, therefore, any apocalyptic imagery we find in the New Testament is likely of great importance and interest to us.

As there are many, many examples, I will only be able to look at a few of them here in any detail. To begin with the general, the Gospels’ talk of the Parousia (Second Coming), Last Days, Judgment, destruction of the wicked, the feast in the eschatalogical Kingdom, the devil, demons, angels, the Son of Man, heaven and hell, and other transcendent imagery is all found in the apocalyptic literature of the Second Temple Period. Although we see the roots of most of these ideas in the Hebrew Scriptures, there is much more detail and clarity in the pseudepigraphal/apocryphal apocalyptic texts. I believe that these themes were there in ancient Old Testament times (as we can see in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel), but many were often edited out/excluded as the texts were passed down.  These apocalyptic themes were preserved more fully by non-mainstream groups, such as the Qumran community. For instance, among the Dead Sea Scrolls, there were found more copies of 1 Enoch than of Genesis, and more copies of Jubilees than Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers. So, for some reason, they had a great interest in preserving texts with a more apocalyptic flavor. And these are texts that do not show up in our Old Testament, but whose themes appear quite clearly in the New Testament. Curious.

Mark 13 and the Second Coming

Mark 13 is often mentioned as one of the most clearly eschatalogical/apocalyptic sections in the Gospels. We recognize this chapter as Jesus speaking of the signs of his Second Coming. Jesus speaks of tribulations and afflictions, and of great signs on earth and in the heavens. It will be a great cosmic catastrophic event. There will be great destruction and the Son of Man will come in the clouds with great power and glory and with his angels and gather the elect to him.  This chapter represents the hopes of many apocalyptic writers for centuries. The Qumran sectarians hoped for this type of great cataclysm that would end the age of wickedness and bring in the reign of righteousness–when light would triumph over darkness. Jesus as the Son of Man coming in the clouds has parallels with Daniel 7, which depicts “one like the Son of Man” coming with the clouds of heaven prior to the great judgment (Dan. 7:13–14, 22).  

The Son of Man

One of Jesus’ preferred titles for himself, as noted above, is the Son of Man. But why did he call himself this? There has likely been as much debate about this topic as any other in recent New Testament scholarship¹. Some have taken this title to be simply a form of self-reference–a way for Jesus to refer to himself in the first person. Similarly, “son of man” (ben-adam) can be applied to any son of Adam, or human being.  So, for example, when Daniel says that he sees “one like the son of man,” he could be referring to a human-like being. However, as J.J. Collins notes², in many passages where Jesus speaks of himself as Son of Man (e.g., Mark 13:24–26; Mark 14:61–62)³, Jesus is specifically using the term to refer to himself as the Messiah, with allusions to the figure in Daniel 7⁴. This would have been a very appropriate title for the role Jesus filled in light of apocalyptic texts such as the Similitudes of Enoch and 4 Ezra. 

But why son of man? Why not just Son of God? In a non-apocalyptic sense, calling Jesus “son of man” is understandable seeing that he was also son of Mary–an emphasis on his mortal nature. Also, ben ‘adam would emphasize his role as the second Adam, and as the representative of the children of Adam before the Father.  Also, as latter-day revelation indicates (see Moses 6:57), a name of God is Man of Holiness (does that mean that God’s name is Adam?), and so Jesus Christ is the Son of Man ((see “Son of Man” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism)). 

The Transfiguration

While the Transfiguration is one of those New Testament stories that can be puzzling to many, it is one of the most familiar to students of apocalyptic literature. For convenience, I will post the block of passages covering the Transfiguration, as told by Matthew.

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

There is really too much in this account to fully cover in this post. I will just take a few of the major themes that have parallels in Jewish apocalyptic literature.

• high mountain — this is a common feature in apocalyptic literature, especially the early texts like those that make up 1 Enoch–the high mountain is the point of contact with God. Whether it is God coming down or Man ascending to heaven, the meeting point is often the high mountain.
• transfiguration into shining being — also a very common feature; we see this image in Exodus where Moses comes down out of the mountain after having seen God–his face is so bright that he has to use a veil. This same theme comes up in the apocalyptic literature over and over again, 2 Enoch being a good example. In these texts, when the visionary is brought to stand before the throne of God, he must undergo a transformation–often he finds that he has become shining/fiery like the angels that he sees around the throne of God. Also, the visionary is generally washed, anointed, and clothed with shining white clothing. Often, these white robes are described as being reserved for the righteous dead, and are accompanied by thrones, crowns, and other regalia. Sometimes, as in the later Ascension of Isaiah, the visionary actually increases in glory as he moves up from one heaven to the next, matching the glory of the angels that are in each level of heaven.
• supporting angels– accompanying many theophanies are cherubim, seraphim, or other “supporting” angels. This idea comes up with great frequency. In the Jerusalem Temple, the ark/throne was flanked by two cherubim. When the Angel of the Lord visited Abraham at Mamre, he was joined by two angels. There are two angels at Jesus tomb and then at his ascension. In the Ascension of Isaiah, the two angels on either side of the Great Glory are Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Arvid Nybroten, a classmate, noted that at the Roman Mass and in the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, the pope or bishop is “supported” by two deacons. In the Gospel account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, Moses and Elijah seem to be serving the function of the supporting angels.
• tabernacles–the offer of Peter to build three tabernacles coincides with the fact that the Transfiguration took place at the time of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is a remnant of the ancient New Year festival that celebrated the creation of the world and the enthronement of Yahweh (and the king). Some scholars see the (re)enthronement of the earthly king as part of this festival–a ritual in which the king would “ascend” to the throne, after having been washed, anointed, and clothed with all the royal regalia. Thus, the transfiguration of Jesus was likely also to be his enthronement, and it occured at exactly the right time on the holy calendar. 
• hidden God–while many of the apocalyptic texts describe the visionary as seeing God on his throne, oftentimes He is hidden in some way. It is sometimes with clouds, but usually with fire. Often the visionary interacts with the chief angel, the Angel of the Lord, or another angelic guide. In Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham is led by the chief angel, Yahoel (which is a form of Yahweh-El, the Divine Name). This angel is described as being the name of the Lord. Abraham is shown the throne of God, but is not able to see God himself. All he sees is fire surrounding the throne and a voice speaking from behind the fire. It is interesting when we look at this as Abraham speaking to Jehovah while the Father is obscured from view because of the brightness of God’s glory. Similarly, in Ascension of Isaiah, the “glory” of God is too bright for Isaiah to see God himself–until he is specifically given power to do so. 
• the secrets–part of the purpose of the ascension/transfiguration experience is to learn secrets from God–these secrets often involve knowledge of the creation, astronomy, and similar topics. In the Gospel account, the three apostles that accompany Jesus are told not to reveal the details of the vision they saw. Presumably, there was knowledge revealed to Peter, James, and John that we would recognize as the “Endowment.” Perhaps this knowledge was not to be widely had in the Church until after Jesus’ resurrection, when he would use this knowledge in its proper context (just a little speculation there)

Some Final Notes

Again, these are just some brief notes on a very interesting topic. I hope it has been evident that there are some clear apocalyptic images in the synoptic Gospels. The Gospel writers evidently had a very similar worldview to that of the writers of the apocalyptic literature.  More accurately, we could say that the person of Jesus Christ fulfilled the types that the ancient writers were looking forward to.  The apocalyptic literature was based on very ancient themes and prophetic expectations and preserved them very well. 

A few random thoughts picked up in class:

• Sacramental mysticism–Because not everyone could have this type of “ascension to heaven” experience, the secrets learned in this type of mystical experience were passed on to everyday believers in the form of symbols/sacraments. In our earthly realm, we must experience these things symbolically. This is, in fact, a safer version of the visionary experiences–For example, we eat the body of Christ symbolically just as visionary/angels feast on the vision of Divine Kavod–we have to have a version of visionary experience for the masses–we can enter heaven through symbols/sacraments (ordinances)
   
• It is intersting to note that Jesus’ transfiguration (endowment) happened on earth and not up in the heavenly temple. He was on a high mountain, which is a counterpart to the temple. Brigham Young performed some early endowments on Ensign Peak, after it had been dedicated for that purpose. Jesus performed washing of the feet, sacrament of Lord’s Supper, and perhaps other ordinances in an “upper room.”
• My classmate, Arvid, brought up a theory that the baptism, transfiguration, and passion/resurrection seem to form a chiasm within the Gospel accounts. All three events have similar themes, e.g. Jesus being identified as the Son of God in each. An important note that Arvid mentioned was that the descent of Jesus into the waters at baptism is parallel to his descent into Hades after his resurrection. He mentioned a tradition (gave no source) that either at the baptism or at his death, Jesus was supposed to have gone to baptize the righteous dead. Very interesting! According to this chiastic structure, the Transfiguration would be at the middle, seeming to indicate that it was the climax, the most important event. 

1. See, for example, P.M. Casey, Son of Man: The Interpretation and Influence of Daniel 7 (London: SPCK, 1979); A. Yarbro Collins, “The Origin of the Designation of Jesus as ‘Son of Man’” in Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 139-58; idem, “The Influence of DAniel on the New Testament,” in J.J. Collins, Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 94-95; G. Vermes, Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s Readings of the Gospels (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973), 160-91
2. J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 261
3. cf. Ps. 110
4. see also Mark 2:10, 27–28

Earlier on this week in Dr. Orlov’s class we had an absolute smorgasbord of a discussion.  The subject was the text often called The Life of Adam and Eve, known from the many manuscripts extant in various languages, including Latin, Greek, Slavonic, Coptic (fragments), Georgian, and Armenian. This document is an apocryphal story of Adam and Eve which expands on the Genesis story. To see English translations of the various versions of the story, please go here.  Some versions are not complete and/or have additional narratives included, so it is helpful to compare the different versions.

It is hard to know when this document was written. It was very influential among Christians from early AD to the Middle Ages.  It has many features that appear to be very Christian, likely because it passed through the hands of so many Christian editors, but most of the traditions present are definitely Jewish (according to Orlov). There is a possibility that the bulk of the material could have originally come from Jewish sources/traditions. In Orlov’s view, it is important if this is based on Jewish traditions. He would actually be very disappointed if it were not. If it is Jewish, much of what is in Gospels can be traced back to this type of tradition–if it isn’t of Jewish origin, this tradition is based on Gospels (which Orlov said would “steal my soul”).

It is generally accepted by scholars that, of the versions we have, the earliest is the Greek version- which is sometimes referred to, interestingly (for LDS), as the Apoclypse of Moses.

Fall of Satan and His Angels and the Worship of Adam

The Life of Adam and Eve has many added details that would be of interest to latter-day saints. I would like to begin with its version of the fall of Satan and the related story about how God commanded the angels to worship Adam.  In this literature, we have a different version of the fall of Satan/rebellious angels than what we found in 1 Enoch. In this tradition, Satan falls before the fall of Adam–instead of later on in the time of Enoch.

We learn about all of this in the text under the section “Fall of Satan.” The text tells us of how Adam and Eve are feeling sorry for themselves and decide to repent and make penitence before the Lord by going and standing in the river (Adam goes to the river Jordan and Eve to the Tigris), with water up to their necks for 40 days (compare BAPTISM). While they are thus engaged, Satan comes to Eve to try to tempt her for a second time, disguising himself as a “cherub with splendid attire” or “a brilliant angel”. He persuades Eve to quit her penitence and go to Adam. When Adam sees that Eve has been deceived again, he is upset with her, but more so with Satan. Adam cannot understand this enmity and probes the Enemy for a reason:

What evil have we done to you? For it is because of your calumnies that we went out from paradise. Is it because we have caused you to be expelled that you are angry against us?
11.3 Or is it because of us that you were despoiled of your glory? Or is it, in some way, by our action that you are in such deficiency? Or are we the only creatures of God that you fight against us alone?

Satan reminds the human couple of events that transpired before, which they have no memory of (from the Armenian version):

12.1 Satan also wept loudly and said to Adam. “All my arrogance and sorrow came to pass because of you; for, because of you I went forth from my dwelling; and because of you I was alienated from the throne of the cherubs who, having spread out a shelter, used to enclose me; because of you my feet have trodden the earth.”
12.2 Adam replied and said to him,
12.3 “What are our sins against you, that you did all this to us?”
13.1 Satan replied and said, “You did nothing to me, but I came to this measure because of you, on the day on which you were created, for I went forth on that day.
13.2 When God breathed his spirit into you, you received the likeness of his image. Thereupon, Michael came and made you bow down before God. God said to Michael, ‘Behold I have made Adam in the likeness of my image.’
14.1 Then Michael summoned all the angels. and God said to them,’Come, bow down to god whom I made.’
14.2 Michael bowed first. He called me and said. ‘You too, bow down to Adam.’
14.3 I said, ‘Go away, Michael! I shall not bow down to him who is posterior to me, for I am former. Why is it proper for me to bow down to him?’
15.1 The other angels, too, who were with me, heard this, and my words seemed pleasing to them and they did not prostrate themselves to you, Adam.
16.1 Thereupon, God became angry with me and commanded to expel us from our dwelling and to cast me and my angels, who were in agreement with me, to the earth; and you were at the same time in the Garden.
16.2 When I realized that because of you I had gone forth from the dwelling of light and was in sorrows and pains,
16.3 then I prepared a trap for you, so that I might alienate you from your happiness just as I, too, had been alienated because of you.”
17.1 When Adam heard this, he said to the Lord, ‘Lord, my soul is in your hand. Make this enemy of mine distant from me, who desires to lead me astray, I who am searching for the light that I have lost.”
17.2 At that time Satan passed away from him.
17.3 Adam stood from then on in the waters of repentance, and Eve remained fallen upon the ground for three days, like one dead. Then, after three days, she arose from the earth,

Interestingly, the text informs us that the reason for Satan’s fall was that he refused to worship Adam, whom God had created. Because Adam is in the image of God, God presents him as worthy of veneration by the angels. He even refers to Adam as “god”.  Satan, feeling that he is older and thus superior to Adam, rebels and convinces many of his followers to do likewise. For this disobedience, God expels Satan and his angels from their glorious status in heaven and confines them to Earth.  Satan then decides to cause trouble for Adam, so that Adam may also lose his glorious status and become miserable like himself.

Note the following images depicting the events of this story:

Reproduction made by the Comte Auguste de Bastard between 1832 and 1869. In R. Green, Herrad of Hohenbourg:Hortus Deliciarum, pl. I.

The above image depicts the moment when God pronounces “Let there be light,” which is understood here to mean the creation of the angels. God is enthroned and giving the sign of blessing to his creation, the angels who stand on either side of the throne.

The above depicts Lucifer arrayed in distinctive garb, and holding the tokens of authority: a staff and orb. His wings extend over his attending angels, who display a scroll with the text of Ezekiel 28:12 written on it.

Hortus Deliciarum, fol. 3v., ca. 1176-1196, Hohenbourg (Alsace), from R. Green, Herrad of Hohenbourg:Hortus Deliciarum, pl. 2. Original destroyed in fire in 1870; the image here reproduces a tracing of the miniature by Christian Moritz Engelhardt (1812-1818).

Panel 1 shows Lucifer plotting rebellion against God with his conspiring angels. He no longer holds the tokens of authority that distinguished him in Folio 3r. The conspiring angels hold an unfurled scroll with the text of Isaiah 14:13–14 written on it. Panel 2 shows the struggle of the loyal angels under the leadership of the archangel Michael agains the rebel angels. Michael strikes the fallen Lucifer with a trident, while other angels similarly cast down rebel angels from the heavenly sphere to the lower realms.

And one more, just for fun:

Here all three Members of the Trinity are depicted–note that they all look identical.

For more information on these images, see this page.

As far as the fall of Satan goes, this text a tradition in which there is a pre-mortal war/rebellion in heaven and Satan and company are expelled at that early point. This idea is not presented so clearly in the Bible nor in the Enochic literature. 

Further Evidence for the Worship of Adam 

Juliana Vazquez, a fellow classmate, did some great research on the legends and traditions behind this story. With her permission, I share some additional notes from her presentation on the topic:

Three Different Forms of the Theme of Angels Adoring Adam (from Various Rabbinic writings)

1. Angels mistake Adam for God and almost exclaim “Holy!”, but God makes Adam sleep, showing that he is just human.

2. All creatures were so in awe of Adam’s God-like qualities that they want to worship him as Lord, but Adam corrects them.

3. Angels notice how much Adam resembles God and ask, “Are there two powers in the world?” 

Legends and Traditions Behind Adam as Made in the Image of God

A. Drawing on a collection of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments known as Words of the Luminaries (4Q504), some scholars argue that passages in Gen. 1 & 3 which say that Adam was made in the image of God perhaps signify that Adam shared in God’s brightness¹

1. Some Jewish renderings of these parts in Genesis have God making garments of light for Adam and Eve instead of garments of skin, arguing for the pluperfect tense so that A. & E. were wearing this luminous attire before the fall, which would make the most sense

a) Later Rabbinic writings focus on the luminosity & glory of Adam’s face rather than on his garments

B. In some of the 4th century writings of Pseudo-Macarius, the image and likeness of God in which Adam was created is closely conneced to his brightness and glory–Adam was created in “the luminous image of God’s glory”²

C. In early Rabbinic materials Adam acts as a Vice-Demiurge in creating the world

D. In an account of creation in 2 Enoch, God speaks of Adam thus: “And on the earth I assigned him to be a second angel, honored and great and glorious.  And I assigned him to be a king, to reign on the earth, and to have my wisdom.  And there was nothing comparable to him on earth, even among the creatures that exist” (30:11-12).³

E. TheTestament of Abraham identified Adam with the glorious man in heaven who sits upon a glorious throne at the gatges of pradise, looking at souls being judged and led either to heaven or hell: “And outside the two gates of that place, they saw a man seated on a golden throne.  And the appearance of that man was terrifying, like the Master’s” (11:4, rec. A)⁴

 My thanks to Juliana for her notes. There are many further items that I could, and would like to, bring out from The Life of Adam and Eve, but that will not all fit here at this time.

This page has further links that include more commentaries on these topics, including other Second Temple traditions, Patristic commentaries, and even material from the Koran on the veneration of Adam. 

Dr. Orlov had the following to say concerning the importance of this literature to Christians and the antiquity of the traditions (I am paraphrasing from my notes):

The New Testament is full of Adamic traditions–did the Christians suddenly make it all up? No, these traditions already existed when the Gospels were written. Matthew, Mark, etc., didn’t invent this material–they use many motifs that make sense only in context of Adamic traditions–(e.g.) Christ is presented as second Adam–These are traditions that far exceed the Old Testament material. The Enochic literature already has these traditions–the same set of motifs applied to Enoch. There are many mediatorial figures mentioned in Second Temple literature that pose as a Second Adam–how could this be a later development unique to Christians? It wasn’t. Son of Man is a Second Adam (Daniel 7)–Obviously this is pre-Christian–anointed Cherub is second Adam already in Ezekiel. Paul had access to these traditions in Jewish circles. This becomes standard Christian anthropology. Paul and Synoptics decided to use these traditions as vehicle for their theology–they claimed ownership. These traditions were not created from scratch by gospel writers and Paul. This all is present in Second Temple period. If there are Moses and Jacob traditions which are ancient, why not ancient Adamic traditions? A lot of these Adamic traditions are attested to in Josephus–he certainly wasn’t Christian.

I see these traditions as helpful to our understanding of what Israel believed about God, what the Jews were expecting in a Messiah, how Christians understood the figure of Jesus Christ, and the doctrines of the temple (both ancient and modern). Adam was believed to be the image of God, just as the pagans had images/idols of their gods.  Adam was the earthly representation of the Lord, made from the earth to resemble Him in every way. Before the Fall, Adam was even glorious and shining like God. Later prophets, priests, and kings were supposed to represent Adam, the first prophet, priest, and king. Individuals who entered the temple acted out a progressive return to heaven, reversing Adam’s departure. Those who returned to the presence of God were seen as regaining the luminous glory of the pre-lapsarian Adam (e.g. Moses’ glowing face after seeing YHWH on Mt. Sinai). Some believed that the figure who Ezekiel saw in his merkabah vision was Adam, the physical image of God. He is seen as the divine anthropomorphic figure sitting on the heavenly throne in many traditions. He is seen as having participated in the creation (some texts say that the Spirit hovering over the waters is the soul of Adam), and Adam is recognized as a god. Adam is seen as a mediatorial figure and is thus connected to the figure of the Messiah. In the NT, Jesus is called the second Adam. 

This is all very interesting to the LDS, because of the high status that Joseph Smith afforded Adam, calling him the archangel Michael (which I see as more of a position/title than a personal name), and placing him in the company of Jehovah in the creation of the earth, etc. Joseph Smith also connects Adam to the figure seated on the throne in Daniel 7, to whom the Son of Man will come. All these Adamic traditions may also give context to (you knew it was coming) some of Brigham Young’s ideas on Adam. Certainly, this topic deserves much more attention than what I have presented here, but hopefully these notes are useful as a starting point.

1. Andrei Orlov, “Vested with God’s Glory: Moses as the Luminous Counterpart of Adam in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Macarian Homilies” from “Memorial Annie Jaubert (1912-1980)” Xristianskij Vostok 4.10 (2002) 740-755.
2. Ibid.
3. J.H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vol. I. (New York: Doubleday, 1983), 152.
4. Ibid., 888