In this post, I would like to begin (it will probably take a few posts) to present some of the notes I took at the conference. I can’t promise that they will be interesting, either because the notes I took weren’t that great, or the presentation just wasn’t that interesting. In fact, I will probably not post all my notes, because some either don’t make sense to me, or they are just simply too tedious.  With that said, I will try to post some of the better notes here. And, as always, I must put forth the disclaimer that I cannot garauntee that my notes faithfully represent what the presenters actually said–but I try to stay faithful to what I got from their presentations.

New Testament Mysticism Session

Jared Calaway — Commentary on Luke 9: 51–56

Luke 9:51-56   51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,  52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.  53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.  54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?  55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.  56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.  

The “Face” walking towards Jerusalem = the “Face” being taken up into heaven; (The Face is the Presence, a reference to the Presence of Yahweh).

The apostles James and John, the “sons of thunder,” are here presented as angels (in Greek, messengers = angels) of the “Face” (or Presence) and have the power to destroy with fire (think of the angels at Sodom and Gomorrah).

These disciples were invested with power and authority at the Transfiguration. This authority is traditionally linked to the prophet Elijah. The later Desert Fathers would claim to have this same authority of Elijah, including the power to call down fire from heaven.

The presence of fire indicates the true divine form, as opposed to the form of an idol. True divine beings appear as beings of fire. When Jesus came down from the Mt. of Transfiguration, was his face shining? (See Matt. 17:2) 

(My note: for an interesting post regarding James and John as “sons of thunder,” check out Greg’s Boanerges post at www.believeallthings.com) 

Pentateuch Session

(I walked in late to this session, so I did not catch the name of the presenter and missed half of his presentation)

The Priestly Grundschrift – the “basic writing” or priestly works found in the Pentateuch 

–Gen. 1 (from the priestly source) challenges the basic creation story found in the next chapters of Genesis

–Gen. 6-9 rewrites flood story—different motivation for flood: earth corrupt—mabul: the chaotic waters under the throne let loose (this is a much bigger flood than in previous stories)

–Gen. 10 offers different explanation of linguistic diversity than earlier accounts

 Priestly rewritings challenge older theological issues. Presents idea of two covenants.

 One of the big questions is: Why does P (priestly editor) keep the J (Yahwist) accounts?  Because the integrity of the scribes kept the debate alive–theology was something to discuss and debate. Sometimes P was able to use and integrate J stories without doing away with them.

Andreas Schuele, Union Seminary Richard (I don’t know why the name Richard is there, but that is what I have in my notes!)

 Gen. 6:1–4 –Angel marriage story, where angels come down from heaven and marry human women

Generally understood to have come from the J (Yahwist) writer

Traditional explanations are not sufficient

Women don’t seduce Sons of God—they see the women and desire them

This text only indicates that there was a time when boundaries between earthly and heavenly was more fluid

There was a belief in beings that were between men and gods—why was this included in the primeval history?

Seems to be an inclusion of Greek mythology

Genesis genealogy doesn’t tell us about what happens to daughters of Adam

Gen 6:1–4 is a parallel track to male genealogy

 This passage has plenty of precedent in Greek mythology

–Achilles is son of goddess Thetis

(My note: the presenter assumes that the “Sons of God” mentioned in this passage refers to actual divine beings–angels from heaven. While this could have been the intended meaning of the author/editor who gives us this passage, it is not the only interpretation. Some early Christians believed that the Sons of God were the righteous sons of Adam/Seth who lived on the side of the holy mountain, just below Eden.  Some of these Sons of God gave into their desires and descended the mountain to mix with the daughters of Cain–see The Cave of Treasures. Thus, these Christians didn’t see the Gen. 6 as talking about literal heavenly angels, but of priestly humans gone bad.  It is widely recognized now that the ancient temple tradition considered priests to be angels. When the high priest went into the holy of holies, he wore white linen robes in imitation of the Angel of the Lord.  Although the Enoch literature relates an extensive account of the rebellious angels who descend from heaven and marry earth women, producing the Giants, some scholars consider these stories to be analogies criticizing the priests of the Second Temple. The corrupt priests that officiated in the apostate temple had engaged in unlawful marriages and thus polluted themselves and all of society.  Thus, it is not necessary to take this story literally, nor necessary to see Greek mythology as its direct antecedent.)

Ugaritic and Semitic Session

Presenter Unknown — KTU 1514

Isa 27:1—A direct quote from the Ugaritic tradition? Serpent = Leviathan = Lotan

What did Baal’s battle with Lotan represent? 

Because you smote Lotan, the slippery serpent, the crooked serpent, the tyrant with seven heads—thus you brightened the heavens—Mot will take revenge on Baal

The skies will be hot and will shine

Defeat of Lotan would allow Baal to continue to reign and, thus, allow the Sun to continue to rise each day—Baal’s rains cool force of Shaphash (Sun)—when there is no rain, Shaphash is unbearable—Baal and Shaphash are necessarily allies

Lotan/Leviathan sent by Mot (Death) to attack Shaphash in order to disrupt cosmic order

Lotan is parallel to Egyptian M.n/Apopis—coiled snake, multiple heads, underworld/aquatic—functionary of Seth and enemy of Re (Sun god) and mortals

Lotan protected Mot; Mot’s guardian dies, but Mot still claims that he will kill Baal

Baal defeats Lotan but is then killed by Mot

 Job 3:8—reference to Leviathan—Leviathan puts out the luminaries, causing the night to come — “May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan “

 Job 26:13—Yahweh destroys Leviathan and heavens become clear

Destruction of Leviathan by Gustave Dore

 5 ref. in Bible to Leviathan –Ps. 74, 104; Job 3:8, 26:13; Isa. 27:1

Isa. 24:23 allusion to darkening of the luminaries

Adonai, not Baal, is able to bring a universal conquering of Mot/Death—other baals have ruled over Israel, but they are now dead—rephaim are dead, but will live

This is polemic against worship of Baal and his rephaim—they die–only Yahweh ultimately defeats both Leviathan and Death (sin and death?)

Isa 25:6–8 – Emphasizing kingship of Yahweh 

Dan Belnap — BYU Professor

Ritual failure in the Baal and Kirta texts

Ritual approaches becoming more popular in Ugaritic and biblical literature studies. 

Feasts are usually successful events— they are generally positive ritual experiences

However, negative outcomes may sometimes result

Most ritual events are a series of rituals—a ritual process where rituals depend on others; A failure in one ritual can lead to a cascade of failure in others

Myth describes relations in the cosmos—a redescription of human experience—the rituals of deities relate to ritual practice of humans

The things happening in stories represent ritual acts

Feasts not are not so much cultic functions, but help to reinforce social connections—those invited, what food is served, location of feast—all important for understanding relations between Gods (and humans)

(KTU/CAT ?) 1.4 iii 10-22—second feast of Baal

Beloved…they mocked me, they arose and they spit on me in the midst of the assembly of the sons of the gods.

Ritual feast gone bad—mistreatment of guest of honor, Baal

Baal meals are meant to bring community together, but this one failed.

Baal makes huge feast—he is the king and is a generous host

Guests’ partaking of meal shows their submission to Baal

Baal declares feast a success—emphasizes kingship and victory over Mot

Baal recognizes and fixes his errors

El gives up throne to Baal—because Baal has learned how to bring order

Ba'al - 14th Century BC - Louvre, Paris

James R. Getz
CAT 1.41
“Mine Eyes have Seen the Glory”

Baptism was recast in Christianity-also Eucharist
Ancient Canaanite rituals were reappropriated in Christianity
Rituals are re-used in poltical, relgious, and social circles

Anciently there were rituals involving seeing the Deity
There is different language used for this in different passages-perhaps due to different locations or different rites-perhaps different deities are being addressed.

The king either sees or offers sacrifice to Deity, depending on the rite
There was an ancient tradition of going to the sanctuary and beholding the image of the Deity

Visitation of gods occured at temples
King provided wine at royal sacrifices
Seeing rites-sometimes king goes to temple to see deity, sometimes image of Deity comes to the temple

Hittites had similar traditions–yearly visit to temple to see (divine) King–this reflects ritual of divine audience

Falling rite = prostrating—king prostrates himself before the Diety.
–vassals bow before suzereigns, even in letters

Seeing rites are analogous to divine audience

I have many more notes from the SBL conference, which I will post in the coming days…

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