[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 583: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/phpbb/session.php on line 639: sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable
UK Hebrew Roots/Messianic/Nazarene Forum •The Heavenly High Priest, part 1 - Page 2
Page 2 of 2

Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 4:48 pm
by nazarene
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.

Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:08 pm
by nazarene
שלום!

Interwoven in Revelation 14 is an allusion to Joel 3:13.

Rev 14:14 And I saw; and behold, a white cloud and on the cloud One sitting like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15 And another angel went forth out of the temple, crying in a great voice to the One sitting on the cloud, Send Your sickle and reap, because Your hour to reap came, because the harvest of the earth was dried.
Joel 3:13 13 (4-13) Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Rev 14:16 And the One sitting on the cloud thrust His sickle onto the earth, and the earth was reaped.

The one like the son of man sends forth his sickle after being called to do so, in Revelation 19 we are also informed that the same figure 'treads the winepress';

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.

So the son of man not only sends forth a sickle but also treads the winepress, why is the Mashiach associated with a winepress and treading and was this an ancient expectation?

In Revelation 19 we told that his garment had been dipped in blood. Was this intended to be in reference to a well known expectation concerning the Mashiach?

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.

In the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan there is an association of the Mashiach having garments dipped in blood and fighting his enemies with winepress imagery as the background imagery;

How beauteous is the King Meshiha, who is to arise from the house of Jehuda! Binding his loins, and going forth to war against them that hate him, he will slay kings with princes, and make the rivers red with the blood of their slain, and his hills white with the fat of their mighty ones; his garments will be dipped in blood, and he himself be like the juice of the winepress. More beautiful are the eyes of the king Meshiha to behold than pure wine; they will not look upon that which is unclean, or the shedding of the blood of the innocent. His teeth are employed according to the precept rather than in eating the things of violence and rapine; his mountains shall be red with vines, and his presses with his wine, and his hills be white with much corn and with flocks of sheep. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

Revelation is indicating knowledge of the interpretation of the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of Genesis 49:9-12.

If that seems unreasonable there are other terms in Revelation which employ targumic terminology which is evidence of the knowledge of the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, one such example is the phrase 'second death';

Rev_2:11 The one who has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. The one overcoming will not at all be hurt by the second death.

Let Reuben live in this world, nor die the second death which the wicked die in the world to come; and let his youths be numbered with the young men of his brethren of Beth Israel. Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy 33:6

Both the Targum and Revelation use the targumic phrase 'second death', given this connection it would certainly strengthen the argument for a knowledge of the Targum pseudo-jonathan or at the very least a shared common tradition behind the two.

In Joel the phrase “tread you” is used;

Joel 3:11-14 11 (4-11) Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD! 12 (4-12) Let the nations be stirred up, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. 13 (4-13) Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 (4-14) Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

This was to tread down the grapes, the Hebrew word used in Joel for 'tread down' is also used in Genesis 1:28;

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the seas, and over birds of the heavens, and over all beasts creeping on the earth.

Adam was to radah, that is tread down, and the imagery of a winepress or treading down grapes could be just below the surface, was there any ancient belief that a vine or grapes was associated with Eden? Two possible pieces of data show this may indeed be reasonable;

And Noah began to be a man working in the earth. And he found a vine which the river had brought away from the garden of Eden; and he planted it in a vineyard, and it flouished in a day; and its grapes became ripe, and he pressed them out. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

1 And after these fragrant odours, as I looked towards the north over the mountains I saw seven mountains full of choice nard and fragrant trees and cinnamon and pepper. 2 And thence I went over the summits of all these mountains, far towards the east of the earth, and passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it, and passed over the angel Zotiel. And I came to the Garden of Righteousness, 3 I and from afar off trees more numerous than I these trees and great-two trees there, very great, beautiful, and glorious, and magnificent, and the tree of knowledge, whose holy fruit they eat and know great wisdom. 4 That tree is in height like the fir, and its leaves are like (those of) the Carob tree: and its fruit 5 is like the clusters of the vine, very beautiful: and the fragrance of the tree penetrates afar. Then 6 I said: ’How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!’ Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: ’This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.’ 1 Enoch 32

This on its own may not completely prove the case, however, if Eden was associated in the second Temple period with the Holy of Holies, then Eden would be connected with imagery belonging to the Temple, was the Temple ever associated with a vineyard, vine or grapes?

In the Targum of Isaiah the parable of vineyard is interpreted as referencing to the Temple;

ISAIAH 5 (BEN UZIEL) — 1 The prophet said, Now I will sing unto Israel, who is like unto a vineyard, the seed of Abra ham, my beloved, a song of my beloved, concerning his vineyard. My people, my beloved Israel, I gave to them an inheritance in a high mountain, in a fat land. 2 I sanctified them, and I made them glorious, I propped them up as a precious vine; and I built my sanctuary in the midst of them; and I gave also mine altar to make an atonement for their sins; and I thought(36) that they should do good works before me, but they did evil works.

In the Mishnah a golden vine is spoken of near the door the Temple;

There were cross bars of stone stretching from the wall of the Hekal to the wall of the porch to prevent it from bulging. There were chains of gold fixed in the roof beams of the porch by which the priestly novitiates used to ascend and see the crowns, as it says, and the crowns shall be to helem and to tobijah and to Jedaiah and to hen the son of zephaniah as a memorial in the Temple of The Lord. A golden vine stood at the door of the Hekal trained on poles, and anyone who offered a leaf or a grape or a bunch used to bring it and hang it thereon. R. Eliezer [T2 or T5] son of R. Zadok [T2] said: on one occasion three hundred priests were commissioned [to clear it]. m.Middot 3.8

And finally Josephus in the first century speaks of the golden vine at the Temple;

The Jewish War 5:209-210 209 but then, as the entire house was divided into two parts within, it was only the first part of it that was open to our view. Its height extended all along to ninety cubits in height, and its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty: 210 but that gate which was at this end of the first part of the house, was, as we have already observed, all over covered with gold, as was its whole wall about it; it had also golden vines above it, from which clusters of grapes hung as tall as a man's height;

Antiquities of the Jews 15:395 395 and over these, but under the crown work, was spread out a golden vine, with its branches hanging down from a great height, the size and fine workmanship of which was a surprising sight to the spectators, to see what vast materials there were, and with what great skill the workmanship was done.

As has already been demonstrated the son of man is associated with the clothing of the High Priest and now he is further being associated with imagery belonging to the Temple, grapes and juice.

Just as Adam was to 'tread down' now it is the son of man who 'treads down', the Hebrew word radah is also used in Psalms 110;

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psa 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
Psa 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Psa 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
Psa 110:6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
Psa 110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Psalms 110 fuses together a priestly context [Melchizedek] and kingly context [ruling in Zion]. The defeat of kings [Psalms 110:5], brings us back to Revelation 19....

Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 1:53 pm
by nazarene
שלום!

In Revelation 19 the birds of the heavens are called to gather together for a supper;

Rev 19:17 And I saw one angel standing in the sun. And he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, Come and gather together to the supper of the great God,
Rev 19:18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of chiliarchs, and the flesh of strong ones, and the flesh of horses, and of the ones sitting on them, and the flesh of all, both freemen and slaves, even of the small and great.

The calling of birds to a supper has only one explicit precedent in the Tanach;

Eze 39:17 And you, son of man, So says the Lord Jehovah: Say to the bird of every wing, and to every beast of the field: Gather yourselves and come, collect yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood.
Eze 39:18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth, of rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Eze 39:19 And you shall eat fat until satiated, and drink blood until drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Eze 39:20 And you shall be satiated at My table with horses and chariots, and mighty men, all the men of war, declares the Lord Jehovah.

The “supper” is a defined as a זבח, that is, a sacrificial offering. As Yeshua is being presented in a High Priestly context [Revelation 1:1-20, 14:14-16], the one who performs the sacrifice of the nations is none other than himself. He is the one who 'treads the winepress' [Revelation 19:15], the imagery of treading down ones enemies is already present in Psalms 110;

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. A declaration of Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool.
Psa 110:2 Jehovah shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion to rule in the midst of Your enemies.

The Hebrew word 'radah' is used, with the imagery of treading down being conveyed, the same Hebrew word is employed with Adam;

Gen 1:26 And God said, let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.

In Psalms 8 language of Creation is used;

Psa 8:3 (8:4) When I behold Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast established;
Psa 8:4 (8:5) What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him?
Psa 8:5 (8:6) Yet Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6 (8:7) Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under His feet:
Psa 8:7 (8:8) Sheep and oxen, all of them, yea, and the beasts of the field;
Psa 8:8 (8:9) The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea; whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
Psa 8:9 (8:10) O LORD, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth!

By using the language of Creation it would bring to mind Genesis and an association with Adam, the Most High placed “all things under his feet”, that would place any enemy in the prime location for Adam to 'radah', that is, tread down. Psalms 8 is also applied to Yeshua, the last Adam;

1Co 15:25 For it is right for Him to reign until He puts all the hostile ones under His feet; Psa. 110:1
1Co 15:26 the last hostile thing made to cease is death.
1Co 15:27 For "He subjected all things under His feet;" but when He says that all things have been subjected, it is plain that it excepts Him who has subjected all things to Him. Psa. 8:6

The combination of Psalms 110 and Psalms 8 would bring us to to usage of radah in relation to the defeat of kings and enemies;

Psa 8:6 You made him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all under his feet:

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. A declaration of Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool.
Psa 110:2 Jehovah shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion to rule in the midst of Your enemies.
Psa 110:3 Your people shall have willingness in the day of Your might; in the majesties of holiness; from the womb of the dawn, to You is the dew of Your youth.
Psa 110:4 Jehovah has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Psa 110:5 The Lord at Your right hand shatters kings in the day of His anger.
Psa 110:6 He shall judge among the nations; He shall fill with dead bodies; He shall shatter heads over much land.
Psa 110:7 He shall drink out of the torrent on the way; therefore, He shall lift up the head.

The combined association of having the enemies placed under the feet of Yeshua [Psalms 110:1, Psalms 8:6], with the treading down of his enemies [Psalms 110:2] in a priestly context [Psalms 110:4], would be prime interpretive ground for placing Yeshua in a High Priestly context about to bring about the sacrificial defeat of the nations in Revelation 19. Although no explicit citations or allusions exist in Revelation for the usage of those Psalms they would set a precedent for such a connection.

Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1

Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 12:56 pm
by nazarene
The High Priestly context of the question of “Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?”

Mat 12:46 But while He was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him.
Mat 12:47 Then one said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.
Mat 12:48 But answering, He said to the one speaking to Him, Who is My mother? And who are My brothers?
Mat 12:49 And stretching out His hand to His disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers.
Mat 12:50 For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven, that one is My brother and sister and mother.

In the first century, the High Priest was considered to be a microcosm of the universe. He summed up all of creation and had an intrinsic link with the community. He represented all of the nation before the Most High. Philo speaks about the aspect of kinship;

Spec. 3:131 131 Moreover, I said before, he has appointed a time for their return, the death of the high priest, for the following reason. [Numbers 35:25.] As the relations of each individual who has been slain treacherously lie in wait to secure themselves revenge and justice upon those who treacherously slew him; in like manner the high priest is the relation and nearest of kin to the whole nation; inasmuch as he presides over and dispenses justice to all who dispute in accordance with the laws, and offers up prayers and sacrifices every day on behalf of the whole nation, and prays for blessings for the people as for his own brethren, and parents, and children, that every age and every portion of the nation, as if it were one body, may be united into one and the same society and union, devoted to peace and obedience to the law.

As the High Priest was a representative of all the community, the community were viewed as his kin and acts as the nearest relation to every one. This type of reasoning seems to be the 'inner logic' of how Yeshua can call the community his brothers, sisters and mother.

Rom 12:5 so also we, who are [collectively] many persons, are one body in Messiah, and are naturally members of each other.

The usage of 'one body' seen also in Philo [see above] seems also be connecting Mashiach to the unifying aspect of the High Priest, and so, in the High Priest, the nation were united into one, being one body.

Re: The Heavenly High Priest, part 1

Posted: Mon May 20, 2019 1:16 pm
by nazarene
A High Priestly role of judging the living and dead?

Act 10:42 And He commanded us to proclaim to the people and to witness solemnly that it is He who has been marked out by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

1Pe 4:5 who will give account to Him having readiness to judge the living and dead.

The role of judging or deciding about the matters concerning of the living and dead was a High Priestly matter, or atleast that is how Philo interprets one of the roles of the High Priest;

Spec. 3:133 133 When, therefore, the law says, let not the fugitive return till the high priest is dead, it says something equivalent to this: Until the high priest is dead, who is the common relation of all the people, to whom alone it is committed to decide the affairs of those who are living and those who are dead.

If this reasoning was shared by others in the first century, then, a High Priestly context could also be given for the role ascribed to Yeshua about judging the living and dead.