Back
in 2009, I published a thread (LINK)
that provided selections from three esteemed Reformed theologians (Calvin,
Edwards, Gill), who identified the preexistent Jesus as Michael the Archangel.
In
the combox of that thread, a link was provided to a ten page online document
by Michael Daniels that cited more than a dozen theologians (from various
traditions) who also taught that Jesus is Michael the Archangel (an updated, 2014 PDF
edition available HERE).
Yesterday,
a thread published by Dr. Edgar G. Foster (link),
brought back to mind an informative and substantive work by Charles A.
Gieschen: Angelomorphic Christology
- Antecedents & Early Evidence. [A
Google Books preview is
available online HERE.]
This
book was originally published back in 1998, and I purchased and read it shortly
thereafter. I did not start blogging until 2007, but I suspect that if my
blogging endeavors had begun before I read the book, I would have devoted a
thread to it. With that said, and thanks to Edgar's post, I am now going to
share a few selections from Gieschen's masterful contribution, and then provide
links to other germane works that I have found to be worth reading.
In
the prologue, Gieschen provides a definition for the term
"Angelomorphic";
"Angelomorphic"
is an inclusive term which means having some of the various forms and functions
of an angel, even though the figure may not be explicitly called an
"angel" or considered to have the created nature of an angel... (Page
3, footnote #2)
He
then writes:
The
study of Angelomorphic Christology has been plagued by two foundational
misconceptions. First, the lack of much overt "angel" terminology in
first century Christology has misdirected our understanding of its influence
far too long...The relative lack of labeling Christ as an angel in the pages of
the NT does not warrant the conclusion that he was understood and depicted by
NT writers without the significant influence of Jewish angelology. For this
reason "angelomorphic" is a more helpful term to broaden the
discussion beyond overt "angel" terminology. Furthermore,
"angel" terminology also raises ontological questions that has moved
some interpreters to dismiss a priori the impact of such concepts on
early Christology. It is curcial to understand that distinctions which early
Christian documents make between Christ and the "created" angels do
not preclude the use of angelomorphic traditions in expressing Christology.
Angelic forms and functions do not of necessity imply a nature that is less
than divine. This conclusion is evident from the OT texts which equate God and
his angel.
The
second major misconception plaguing the study of Angelomorphic Christology is
that many scholars believe that it developed at a later date and could not have
influenced the origin and very early expression of Christology. (Page 4)
A
couple of pages later we read:
This
study will address this need by arguing the following thesis: Angelomorphic
traditions, especially those growing from the Angel of the Lord traditions, had
a significant impact on the early expressions of Christology to the extent that
evidence of an Angelomorphic Christology is discernible in several documents
dated between 50 and 150 CE. (Page 6)
On
pages 27-29, he provides definitions for ANGEL, ANGELOLOGY, ANGELOMORPHIC, ANGEL
CHRISTOLOGY, ANGELOMORPHIC CHRISTOLOGY, ANGELOPHANY, THEOPHANY, EPIPHANY, AND
CHRISTOLOGY, and then made the following important distiniction:
ANGEL
CHRISTOLOGY is the explicit identification of Jesus Christ as an angel.
ANGELOMORPHIC CHRISTOLOGY is the identification of Christ with angelic form and
functions, either before or after the incarnation, whether or not he is
specifically identified as an angel. (Page 28)
Chapter
one focuses on "History of Research" concerning angelomorphic
traditions, referencing over thirty authors/theologians who have written on the
subject.
Chapters
three through six deals with the angelomorphic traditions found primarily in
pre-Christian Jewish literature, including the OT.
Chapters
seven through ten examines pre-Nicene Christian authors whose extant writings contain some
form of angelomorphic Christology, and chapters eleven through fourteen
reflects on the NT evidence.
The
conclusion, chapter fifteen, ends with:
The
seeds that were needed to express a sophisticated Christology were sown in the
Israelite and Jewish texts from which early Christianity sought to understand
Jesus as Lord. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the angelomorphic
traditions of this literature, among which the Angel of the Lord texts are
foundational, were some of the oldest and more significant traditions that
inspired the Christology which we now find in early Christian literature,
including the New Testament. (Page 351)
I
highly recommend this book to those folk who have an interest in Christological
issues. It is informative and well written, and IMO worth its rather high cost.
In
ending, I would also like to recommend the following related contributions (the
links provided are Google Books previews):
Michael and Christ: Michael Traditions and Angel
Christology in Early Christianity, by Darrell D. Hannah
(LINK).
Angel Veneration and
Christology - A Study in Early Judaism and in Christology of the Apocalypse of
John, by Loren T. Stuckenbruck (LINK)
Two
Powers in Heaven - Early Rabbinic Reports About Christianity and Gnosticism, by Alan F. Segal (LINK)
Grace
and peace,