Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:48 pm
שלום!
In Revelation 1 Yeshua has a golden girdle and in Revelation 14 he has a golden crown both placing him in a High Priestly context.
In Revelation 19 a figure riding on a white horse is described;
Rev 19:11 And I saw Heaven being opened. And, behold! A white horse, and He sitting on it having been called Faithful and True. And He judges and wars in righteousness.
Rev 19:12 And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head many diadems, having a name that had been written, which no one knows except Himself;
Rev 19:13 and having been clothed in a garment which had been dipped in blood. And His name is called The Word of God.
His eyes were as a “flame of fire”, there are only two other places where a figure is described as having eyes as a flame of fire, that being Revelation 1:14 and Revelation 2:18, in both of those places it is Yeshua.
Additionally this figure will also shepherd the nations with a rod of iron;
Rev 19:15 And out of His mouth goes forth a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations. And He will shepherd them with an iron rod. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of God Almighty.
Just like the eyes were as a flame of fire in Revelation 2:18, this same figure also, just like the figure in Revelation 2:18-27, has a rod of iron;
Rev 2:27 and "He will shepherd them with an iron staff" (they are "broken to pieces like clay vessels"), as I also have received from My Father. Psa. 2:8, 9
The rod of iron is associated with kingly authority;
Psa 2:6 Yea, I have set My king on My holy mount on Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare concerning the statute of Jehovah: He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You.
Psa 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance; and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
By the associated imagery the figure in Revelation 19 is Yeshua, in the other two places which have been discussed Yeshua is clothed with High Priestly imagery, yet in Revelation 19 we come across some additional attire;
Rev 19:12 And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head many diadems, having a name that had been written, which no one knows except Himself;
Rev 19:13 and having been clothed in a garment which had been dipped in blood. And His name is called The Word of God.
On his head he had many diadems. What would a diadem indicate to a first century reader and was a diadem ever associated with the High Priest?
In the first century a diadem was associated with authority and also kingly authority;
Philo describes the ensigns of kingly authority;
Congr. 1:118 118 Again, that omnipotent overseer and ruler of the universe reproved the state of Egypt, when rebellious against the rein, when it was extolling with grandiloquent words the mind as an adversary of God, and bestowing on it all the ensigns of kingly authority, such as the throne, the sceptre, the diadem; and chastised it with ten stripes and severe punishment.
Josephus also shows how a diadem was used;
Antiquities of the Jews 13:369 369 But when Antiochus, the son of Cyzicenus, was king of Syria, Antiochus, the brother of Seleucus, made war upon him, and was overcome and killed, he and his army. After him, his brother Philip put on the diadem, and reigned over some part of Syria;
Antiquities of the Jews 20:32 32 So Queen Helena complied with this counsel of theirs, and set up Monobazus, the oldest son, to be king, and put the diadem upon his head, and gave him his father's ring, with its signet; as also the ornament which they call sampsera (golden shield), and exhorted him to administer the affairs of the kingdom till his brother should come;
Given that there is an allusion to Psalms 2:9 [a kingship Psalm] in Revelation 19:15 and Revelation 2:18-27, the diadems on the head of Yeshua imply kingly authority.
Though there are diadems [plural] described, more than one, what else could this be indicating?
One diadem then is associated with royalty, and the Scriptures do indicate that there was knowledge of a royal diadem;
Isa 62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
The Hebrew word translated as diadem here is צנוף. It can be translated as diadem [which is how the LXX translates it] but it can also be translated as turban as in the turban the High Priest wears;
Zec 3:5 And I said, Let them set a clean turban on his head. And they set a clean turban on his head and clothed him with clothing. And the Angel of Jehovah stood by.
Zec 3:5 ואמר ישׂימו צניף טהור על־ראשׁו וישׂימו הצניף הטהור על־ראשׁו וילבשׁהו בגדים ומלאך יהוה עמד׃
As there are diadems [plural] spoken of in Revelation 19 could have there been a blending of both royal association and High Priestly association?
In the second Temple period there is some evidence that the High Priest was associated with a diadem, in speaking of the High Priest Philo informs us of a High Priestly diadem;
Fug. 1:111 111 And it is said that he will never take the mitre off from his head, he will never lay aside the kingly diadem, the symbol of an authority which is not indeed absolute, but only that of a viceroy, but which is nevertheless an object of admiration. Nor will he "rend his clothes;"
However he elsewhere explains that the High Priest did not technically have a diadem;
Mos. 2:116 116 And in it there was a mitre, in order that the leaf might not touch the head; and there was also a cidaris made, for the kings of the eastern countries are accustomed to use a cidaris, instead of a diadem.
Mos. 2:131 131 XIV. Such then are the figurative meanings which he desires to indicate by the sacred vestments of the high priest; and instead of a diadem he represents a cidaris on the head, because he thinks it right that the man who is consecrated to God, as his high priest, should, during the time of his exercising his office be superior to all men, not only to all private individuals, but even to all kings;
Even though Philo does explain that it is a cidaris rather than a diadem Philo still was comfortable in using a diadem in relation to the High Priest.
Further evidence of a diadem being associated with the High Priest is also evident in the book of Wisdom [written at the latest in the first century];
Wis 18:21 For then the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them; and bringing the shield of his proper ministry, even prayer, and the propitiation of incense, set himself against the wrath, and so brought the calamity to an end, declaring that he was thy servant.
Wis 18:22 So he overcame the destroyer, not with strength of body, nor force of arms, but with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers.
Wis 18:23 For when the dead were now fallen down by heaps one upon another, standing between, he stayed the wrath, and parted the way to the living.
Wis 18:24 For in the long garment was the whole world, and in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven, and thy Majesty upon the diadem of his head.
Wis 18:25 Unto these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them: for it was enough that they only tasted of the wrath.
This is retelling when Aaron delivered the people from the plague in Numbers;
Num 16:46 (17:11) And Moses said unto Aaron: 'Take thy fire-pan, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from the LORD: the plague is begun.'
Num 16:47 (17:12) And Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.
Num 16:48 (17:13) And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49 (17:14) Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50 (17:15) And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stayed.
Both Philo and the book of Wisdom show that the High Priest had, or atleast could be spoken of, as having a diadem. In Revelation 19, both High Priestly and Kingly diadems are combined together on the head of Yeshua.
In Revelation 1 Yeshua has a golden girdle and in Revelation 14 he has a golden crown both placing him in a High Priestly context.
In Revelation 19 a figure riding on a white horse is described;
Rev 19:11 And I saw Heaven being opened. And, behold! A white horse, and He sitting on it having been called Faithful and True. And He judges and wars in righteousness.
Rev 19:12 And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head many diadems, having a name that had been written, which no one knows except Himself;
Rev 19:13 and having been clothed in a garment which had been dipped in blood. And His name is called The Word of God.
His eyes were as a “flame of fire”, there are only two other places where a figure is described as having eyes as a flame of fire, that being Revelation 1:14 and Revelation 2:18, in both of those places it is Yeshua.
Additionally this figure will also shepherd the nations with a rod of iron;
Rev 19:15 And out of His mouth goes forth a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations. And He will shepherd them with an iron rod. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of God Almighty.
Just like the eyes were as a flame of fire in Revelation 2:18, this same figure also, just like the figure in Revelation 2:18-27, has a rod of iron;
Rev 2:27 and "He will shepherd them with an iron staff" (they are "broken to pieces like clay vessels"), as I also have received from My Father. Psa. 2:8, 9
The rod of iron is associated with kingly authority;
Psa 2:6 Yea, I have set My king on My holy mount on Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare concerning the statute of Jehovah: He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You.
Psa 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance; and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
By the associated imagery the figure in Revelation 19 is Yeshua, in the other two places which have been discussed Yeshua is clothed with High Priestly imagery, yet in Revelation 19 we come across some additional attire;
Rev 19:12 And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head many diadems, having a name that had been written, which no one knows except Himself;
Rev 19:13 and having been clothed in a garment which had been dipped in blood. And His name is called The Word of God.
On his head he had many diadems. What would a diadem indicate to a first century reader and was a diadem ever associated with the High Priest?
In the first century a diadem was associated with authority and also kingly authority;
Philo describes the ensigns of kingly authority;
Congr. 1:118 118 Again, that omnipotent overseer and ruler of the universe reproved the state of Egypt, when rebellious against the rein, when it was extolling with grandiloquent words the mind as an adversary of God, and bestowing on it all the ensigns of kingly authority, such as the throne, the sceptre, the diadem; and chastised it with ten stripes and severe punishment.
Josephus also shows how a diadem was used;
Antiquities of the Jews 13:369 369 But when Antiochus, the son of Cyzicenus, was king of Syria, Antiochus, the brother of Seleucus, made war upon him, and was overcome and killed, he and his army. After him, his brother Philip put on the diadem, and reigned over some part of Syria;
Antiquities of the Jews 20:32 32 So Queen Helena complied with this counsel of theirs, and set up Monobazus, the oldest son, to be king, and put the diadem upon his head, and gave him his father's ring, with its signet; as also the ornament which they call sampsera (golden shield), and exhorted him to administer the affairs of the kingdom till his brother should come;
Given that there is an allusion to Psalms 2:9 [a kingship Psalm] in Revelation 19:15 and Revelation 2:18-27, the diadems on the head of Yeshua imply kingly authority.
Though there are diadems [plural] described, more than one, what else could this be indicating?
One diadem then is associated with royalty, and the Scriptures do indicate that there was knowledge of a royal diadem;
Isa 62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
The Hebrew word translated as diadem here is צנוף. It can be translated as diadem [which is how the LXX translates it] but it can also be translated as turban as in the turban the High Priest wears;
Zec 3:5 And I said, Let them set a clean turban on his head. And they set a clean turban on his head and clothed him with clothing. And the Angel of Jehovah stood by.
Zec 3:5 ואמר ישׂימו צניף טהור על־ראשׁו וישׂימו הצניף הטהור על־ראשׁו וילבשׁהו בגדים ומלאך יהוה עמד׃
As there are diadems [plural] spoken of in Revelation 19 could have there been a blending of both royal association and High Priestly association?
In the second Temple period there is some evidence that the High Priest was associated with a diadem, in speaking of the High Priest Philo informs us of a High Priestly diadem;
Fug. 1:111 111 And it is said that he will never take the mitre off from his head, he will never lay aside the kingly diadem, the symbol of an authority which is not indeed absolute, but only that of a viceroy, but which is nevertheless an object of admiration. Nor will he "rend his clothes;"
However he elsewhere explains that the High Priest did not technically have a diadem;
Mos. 2:116 116 And in it there was a mitre, in order that the leaf might not touch the head; and there was also a cidaris made, for the kings of the eastern countries are accustomed to use a cidaris, instead of a diadem.
Mos. 2:131 131 XIV. Such then are the figurative meanings which he desires to indicate by the sacred vestments of the high priest; and instead of a diadem he represents a cidaris on the head, because he thinks it right that the man who is consecrated to God, as his high priest, should, during the time of his exercising his office be superior to all men, not only to all private individuals, but even to all kings;
Even though Philo does explain that it is a cidaris rather than a diadem Philo still was comfortable in using a diadem in relation to the High Priest.
Further evidence of a diadem being associated with the High Priest is also evident in the book of Wisdom [written at the latest in the first century];
Wis 18:21 For then the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them; and bringing the shield of his proper ministry, even prayer, and the propitiation of incense, set himself against the wrath, and so brought the calamity to an end, declaring that he was thy servant.
Wis 18:22 So he overcame the destroyer, not with strength of body, nor force of arms, but with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers.
Wis 18:23 For when the dead were now fallen down by heaps one upon another, standing between, he stayed the wrath, and parted the way to the living.
Wis 18:24 For in the long garment was the whole world, and in the four rows of the stones was the glory of the fathers graven, and thy Majesty upon the diadem of his head.
Wis 18:25 Unto these the destroyer gave place, and was afraid of them: for it was enough that they only tasted of the wrath.
This is retelling when Aaron delivered the people from the plague in Numbers;
Num 16:46 (17:11) And Moses said unto Aaron: 'Take thy fire-pan, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon, and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them; for there is wrath gone out from the LORD: the plague is begun.'
Num 16:47 (17:12) And Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.
Num 16:48 (17:13) And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49 (17:14) Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50 (17:15) And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stayed.
Both Philo and the book of Wisdom show that the High Priest had, or atleast could be spoken of, as having a diadem. In Revelation 19, both High Priestly and Kingly diadems are combined together on the head of Yeshua.