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A Kingdom of Priests and Gods: Angelic and Participatory Deification in John's Apocalypse

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A Kingdom of Priests and Gods: Angelic and Participatory Deification in John's Apocalypse BearWorks MSU Graduate Theses Spring 2018 A Kingdom of Priests and Gods: Angelic and Participatory Deification in John's Apocalypse David A. Armstrong Missouri State University, [email protected] As with any intellectual project, the content and views expressed in this thesis may be considered objectionable by some readers. However, this student-scholar’s work has been judged to have academic value by the student’s thesis committee members trained in the discipline. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student-scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. Follow this and additional works at: https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Armstrong, David A., "A Kingdom of Priests and Gods: Angelic and Participatory Deification in John's Apocalypse" (2018). MSU Graduate Theses. 3234. https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3234 This article or document was made available through BearWorks, the institutional repository of Missouri State University. The work contained in it may be protected by copyright and require permission of the copyright holder for reuse or redistribution. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND GODS: ANGELIC AND PARTICIPATORY DEIFICATION IN JOHN’S APOCALYPSE A Masters Thesis Presented to The Graduate College of Missouri State University TEMPLATE In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts, Religious Studies By David Alan Armstrong May 2018 Copyright 2018 by David Alan Armstrong ii A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND GODS: ANGELIC AND PARTICIPATORY DEIFICATION IN JOHN’S APOCALYPSE Religious Studies Missouri State University, May 2018 Master of Arts David Alan Armstrong ABSTRACT Ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature contains soteriological narratives of human transformation that qualify as examples of deification in antiquity. One widely exemplified type of deification in ancient Jewish apocalypses and apocalyptic literature focuses first on the analogy between priests and angels, and then the gradual assimilation of the former to the identity of the latter. In much apocalyptic thought, God resides in a celestial sanctuary in heaven where angels serve a heavenly liturgy of worship and praise, and it is this reality which the earthly priesthood, temple, and cult mimic and extend into the human world, which led to speculation that human priests would become angels either at death or in the eschaton. This narrative of transformation also accords with what Martha Himmelfarb calls a “democratization” of the priesthood to include righteous individuals who otherwise would not enjoy such privileges. The Book of Revelation, as an apocalypse written by a Christian Jew, makes use of this traditional Jewish soteriology in a uniquely Christian framework, by appropriating its imagery and logic in the context of an early Christian participatory model of deification, the communicatio idiomatum, or “exchange of attributions.” Through participation in the angelomorphic, priestly Christ, the priestly saints are also guaranteed a share in angelic, divine glory. The study adds Revelation to an ongoing scholarly conversation about the trajectory of early Christian soteriological development. KEYWORDS: Judaism, Christianity, apocalypticism, soteriology, deification, priests, angels, Revelation, Christology This abstract is approved as to form and content _______________________________ Leslie Baynes, PhD Chairperson, Advisory Committee Missouri State University iii A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND GODS: ANGELIC AND PARTICIPATORY DEIFICATION IN JOHN’S APOCALYPSE By David Alan Armstrong A Masters Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College Of Missouri State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, Religious Studies May 2018 Approved: _______________________________________ Leslie Baynes, PhD _______________________________________ John Strong, PhD _______________________________________ Vadim Putzu, PhD _______________________________________ Julie Masterson, PhD: Dean, Graduate College In the interest of academic freedom and the principle of free speech, approval of this thesis indicates the format is acceptable and meets the academic criteria for the discipline as determined by the faculty that constitute the thesis committee. The content and views expressed in this thesis are those of the student- scholar and are not endorsed by Missouri State University, its Graduate College, or its employees. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Glory to Jesus Christ. Many thanks are in order for the successful completion of both the program and the thesis. Principally, I would like to thank the members of the committee, Drs. Leslie Baynes, John Strong, and Vadim Putzu, for their gracious offers of time, encouragement, and assistance in guiding the project from conception to execution. Special thanks are due to Dr. Baynes not only for the project and its completion, but for five years of mentorship and guidance into academic life and the study of ancient Judaism and early Christianity. Thanks, Kirk. Secondly, I would like to thank all of the professors of the Religious Studies Department who have had some special role in my education and with whom I have enjoyed friendly concourse, among whom the three already mentioned are included: Drs. Victor Matthews, Stephen Berkwitz, Jack Llewellyn, Mark Given, Bill Moyer, Kathy Pulley, Austra Reinis, John Schmalzbauer, Amy Artman, as well as to Messrs. Jeff Fugitt and David Embree, and Ms. Jane Terry. Thirdly, I would like to thank Drs. Edwin Carawan, Joseph Hughes, Pauline Nugent, and once more John Strong, who are responsible for my instruction in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and particularly to Drs. Hughes and Strong, who generously offered me the opportunity to continue reading with them by arrangement throughout the course of the graduate program. Fourthly, I would like to thank all of the graduate assistants whose friendship sustained me throughout the program and particularly the duration of the project’s composition: Nii Addo Abrahams, Pan Porter, Logan Burke, Zach Beck (M’brosa), Samuel Gingerich, Kayla Jenkins, Lindsey Argo, and Jade Callaway. Fifthly, I would like to thank my parents for their support and sponsorship of my academic career and their unwavering belief in me: I love you both. Sixthly, I would like to thank Eric Wencel, Michael Ruether, Tyler Barnes, Chloé Barnes, and Casey Stone, whose friendship means more to me than life, and who have stood by me through many trials, of which this thesis is one. I dedicate this thesis to Belle, whose heartfelt love is the closest that I have come to seeing the face of God in this life. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Apocalypticism and Deification in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity ....1 Methodologies And Their Application ....................................................................2 Defining Apocalypticism and Deification in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity ...............................................................................................................6 Chapter 2: The Angelic Deification Of The Priesthood In Ancient Jewish Literature ......27 Analogy and Transformation Between The Earthly and Heavenly Priesthoods in Ancient Jewish Apocalypses and Apocalyptic Thought ........................................28 Conclusion: Revelation Among the Apocalypses..................................................64 Chapter 3: Angelomorphic Christology, Participatory Deification, And The Transformation of Tradition in John’s Apocalypse ..........................................................67 Angelomorphic Christology in John’s Apocalypse ...............................................67 The Angelomorphic Christ as Heavenly High Priest Of The Priestly Saints ........80 Communicatio Idiomatum: The Deification Of The Priestly Saints in John’s Apocalypse .............................................................................................................95 Conclusion: Apocalyptic Deification Between Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity ...........................................................................................................107 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................109 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. The Self-Glorification Hymn From Qumran. ......................................................54 Table 2. Parallels Between The One Like A Son Of Man (Rev 1:12-16) And The Rider On The White Horse (Rev 19:11-20). ................................................................................78 vii CHAPTER 1: APOCALYPTICISM AND DEIFICATION IN ANCIENT JUDAISM AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY How does the Apocalypse of John relate to early Jewish and Christian soteriologies of deification? How does John relate to Jewish traditions of deification, and how does he relate to Christian ones? My answer to those questions can be summarized in the following points: (1) Ancient Jews and early Christians were participants in a wider discussion in antiquity of deification and human transformation, and both resembled and differed from both one another and their neighbors in their respective soteriologies. (2) John’s Apocalypse, as a Jewish apocalypse, is part of a tradition of Jewish apocalyptic texts that are marked by what April D. DeConick calls
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