THRONE-CHARIOT MYSTICISM AND PAUL: AN ANCIENT TRADITION S INFLUENCE ON THE GENIUS WHO BROUGHT JESUS TO THE WORLD

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1 THRONE-CHARIOT MYSTICISM AND PAUL: AN ANCIENT TRADITION S INFLUENCE ON THE GENIUS WHO BROUGHT JESUS TO THE WORLD Benjamin L. Fuller Department of Philosophy & Religion History of Christian Thought December 4, 2012

2 THRONE-CHARIOT MYSTICISM AND PAUL: AN ANCIENT TRADITION S INFLUENCE ON THE GENIUS WHO BROUGHT JESUS TO THE WORLD Mystics are not crazy, or at least, not necessarily so. 1 Alan Segal, in his highly acclaimed work Paul the Convert (1990), he argues that Paul should be understood as a first-century Jewish apocalyptic mystic (Segal 1990, 34-71). Segal relates Paul to later merkabah mystics, who Paul resonates with in their literature in his description of his conversion as an encounter with Christ, the glory of God a clear allusion to Ezekiel s own vision of God s glory (Ezekiel 1:26). Though this may seem at first like an obscure subject, especially with the term mysticism involved, this paper will hopefully show it is very important to understanding Paul s conception of his own apostleship. First, there will be a brief look at what is known about throne-chariot mysticism in the Jewish tradition. Then, second, the influence of merkabah mysticism on the Apostle Paul will be discussed. Throne-Chariot Mysticism in Jewish Tradition The basic elements of Jewish throne-chariot mysticism can be found in the biblical throne visions. 2 Though there a several examples, one of the most important comes from Ezekiel s theophany in which he receives his prophetic call vision by the river Chebar (Ezek 1:2-28). Here the prophet Ezekiel gave an extensive yet cryptic depiction of what became known as the throne-chariot, a kind of royal throne on wheels according to Daniel 7:9. Beginning with a stormy wind and a fiery cloud approaching from the north (v.4), Ezekiel s vision unfolds as a description of four 1 Eugene d Aquili, Andrew B. Newberg, The Mystical Mind: Probing the Biology of Religious Experience (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999), Cf. Exod. 24:10-11; 1 Kgs 22:19; Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1; 3:22-24; 8:1-18; 10:9-17; 43:1-4; Dan 7:

3 bizarre living creatures, each with four faces, four wings, and four wheels (vv.5-21). Above their heads was a platform like crystal (vv.22-25), and above the platform sat a manifestation of God on a sapphire throne described as the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord (vv.26-28) (Scott 1997, 102). Important to understanding merkabah visions are five general points made by J.W. Bowker in his article Merkabah Visions and the Visions of Paul. First, though merkabah contemplation was later restricted in rabbinic Judaism, it could not be suppressed, nor could it be denied that certain highly respected rabbis had practiced merkabah contemplation and had seen visions. 3 Second, the restriction was imposed on in part by an emphasis on the extreme danger for anyone that is unskilled or untrained in basic halakic knowledge to attempt merkabah contemplation; 4 thus, thirdly, there is no question of the halakic orthodoxy of at least some (probably the majority) of the rabbis who practiced merkabah contemplation. 5 Fourth, although visions were often claimed outside the circle of rabbinic orthodoxy and were regarded with great suspicion, the fact remains that visions of a particular kind were able to occur within rabbinic orthodoxy, but in that case the contemplation necessary for the vision was regarded as a kind of higher education to be undertaken only by the very well trained. Fifth and finally, it is important to remember that the main purpose of contemplation on the 3 Bowker (1971) 157. Not least of these was Johanan b. Zakkai, who was one of the greatest respected scholars at the time of the fall of Jerusalem. Zakkai taught merkabah contemplation to some of his most favorite students. 4 The danger with merkabah contemplation arises in general because of the biblical warning that no man shall see God and live in Exodus 33:20, and in particular because anyone who approaches holiness or the holy in a state of uncleanness is in physical danger hence the biblical warning itself. 5 Bowker (1971) 158. Although cautionary tales were told of the unorthodoxy and unhappy fate of some practitioners of merkabah contemplation, there was no denying the orthodoxy of Johanan b. Zakkai. 2

4 chariot chapters of Ezekiel was not necessarily to produce visions at all, but simply to attend exegetically to a particular part of scripture. Bowker describes this part of scripture as scripture full of hidden and dangerous potential, because of its description of what the vision of God may resemble. Nevertheless, he continues, that this part of scripture is indeed a part of scripture and therefore to be interpreted and understood (Bowker 1971, ). Merkabah contemplation gave rise to esoteric speculation, similar to the narrative of creation. Both sections of scripture, that of the Chariot and of Creation, had to be interpreted, because they were parts of scripture, but the attempt to understand the meaning of the passages (particularly the chariot chapters argues Bowker) might lead the exegete to see again the vision of the passage (Bowker 1971, 158). This seeing again of the vision might arise from contemplation on the chariot chapters, however it did not necessarily do so on every occasion that the chapters were contemplated; once again, Bowker emphasizes the training and skill of the person involved (Bowker 1971, 158). It is for this reason that the practitioners concerned are said to be, in particular, direct descendants of Abraham, because Abraham, the father of the faithful, was also one who was taken up and shown paradise 6 (Bowker 1971, 158). Throne-Chariot Mysticism in Paul The Damascus Road Experience The Apostle Paul was a Jew who proudly characterized himself as such after years of missionary work in the name of the resurrected Christ (cf. 2 Cor 11:22; Rom 6 For Abraham being taken up to and being shown paradise, see Bowker s The Targums and Rabbinic Literature. 3

5 11:1; Phil 3:5) (Scott 1997, 106). Even after becoming a follower, an Apostle even, of Jesus Christ, Paul continued to participate in the synagogue; therefore, if merkabah mysticism was practiced in the synagogue, was Paul acquainted with it as well? 7 From the foregoing points, it can be seen that there is nothing, in principle, absurd in suggesting that Paul might have been trained to the point of contemplating the meaning of the chariot chapters with the expectation of seeing the vision again. On the contrary, in general terms this would be in accord with Paul s claims about himself, that he was deeply and thoroughly trained, and that he was a true descendant of Abraham. Paul claims, shortly before the description of the Damascus road vision, in 2 Corinthians 11:22, Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Before this issue is discussed any further, a brief overview of Paul and his experience on the road to Damascus is in order. Not much more than a year after the first Christian Pentecost, Saul of Tarsus was traveling the road north from Jerusalem to Damascus with permission from the Jewish high priest to bring back any Christians from the synagogues there as prisoners on account of their heresy. Recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, his trip was interrupted by a light from heaven, which rendered Saul 7 Cf. James M. Scott, Throne-Chariot Mysticism in Qumran and in Paul (1997) Scott discusses Throne-Chariot Mysticism in the Jewish Tradition, both in the Dead Sea Scrolls community and later Jewish literature. The large number of manuscripts of the Angelic Liturgy found at Qumran (4Q ) provided the Dead Sea Scrolls community with a lengthy preparation that gradually led through the spiritually animate heavenly Temple until the worshippers experienced the holiness of the merkabah. Later Jewish tradition also had much to say about the divine throne-chariot; an entire body of Jewish literature, in fact, called the Hekhalot (or Palaces ) that features contemplation of the divine throne-chariot in a special way. 4

6 blind for three days (Meister and Stump 2008, 52) (Acts 9:1-3). The text goes on to describe a sound that ultimately led Saul to radically change his attitude toward the sect of Jews claiming that the messiah had come, and to change his name to Paul. According to Paul, the risen Christ appeared in the light from heaven on the Damascus Road, identifying himself as Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:5). It is at this point of Paul s experience that scholars have found similarities with the traditions of Jewish chariot-throne mysticism and Paul s Damascus Road vision. Of all the vision stories of the Hebrew Bible, the most famous was the vision of Ezekiel that opens his book of prophesies. The first sight of God s chariot-throne in Ezekiel 1:1-28 inspired seer after seer, and not least of these Griffith-Jones, among other scholars, argues was Paul himself (Griffith-Jones 2004, 78). Similar to the religious experience of Ezekiel on the banks of the river Chebar, Paul, both as described by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles and by Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, had a religious experience. In 2 Corinthians 4:6, Paul says that God, who in the first creation said, Let light shine from the darkness, himself shone forth in our hearts to illuminate knowledge of God s glory on the face of Jesus Christ, as it were in the kind of new creation that Paul goes on to speak of in 2 Corinthians 5:17 basically, Paul has had a vision. He is explaining to the Corinthians that he has seen the glory of God on the face of Christ (Engberg-Pedersen 2008, 152). Engberg-Pedersen argues that Paul s claim to having seen the face of Christ has two features that define the phenomenon described as that of an experience : an individual and his or her interior (2008, 152). He goes on to apply these two points to what Paul said about his own experience of Christ in his second 5

7 letter to the Corinthians: Paul begins referring explicitly to something they have seen (namely, Jesus Christ dawn before their eyes crucified), and only then refers to what they have also heard (namely, from Paul himself) (Engberg-Pedersen 2008, 152). Griffith-Jones in The Gospel According to Paul says Paul s experience on the Damascus Road was not a fluke; instead, it grew from a long training in an ancient tradition. This ancient tradition stems from the visions of other seers, particularly Ezekiel, in the strange and dangerous tradition of chariot-throne mysticism. The Language of the Mystics: Paul and Ezekiel Some may be tempted to think of Paul s experience on the road to Damascus as a terrifying surprise, an experience for which he was not prepared and for which he later sought examples and explanations; however, this is not the case at all. Paul s vision came to him in the visual language he already knew rather well; it was well within the traditions and expectations of a seer (Griffith-Jones 2004, 84). As Paul was on his journey to Damascus, Griffith-Jones suggests he was dwelling on the detail in Ezekiel s vision of the throne. In the start of his book, Ezekiel declares the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God (v.1:1). Throughout his account, Ezekiel sees great clouds, four living creatures, and the likeness of a vault shining like crystal. From here, he moves from sight to sound as he describes hearing the sound of the wings of the cherubim, like the sound of many waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; and when they stood up, they let down their wings (v.1:24). Describing a view that was open beyond the vault, Ezekiel used categories that he and his readers would know. Griffith-Jones says that Ezekiel uses such terms to describe his 6

8 vision, because it is in such terms that he himself can have the vision, and it is only in such terms that his readers can envisage his account for themselves (2004, 81). In his account, Ezekiel only claims likeness after likeness, because he doubts he is using appropriate language at all the language of thrones and precious stones (Griffith-Jones 2004, 81). For example he wrote, And above the vault over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire; and above the likeness of a throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man upon it (v.1:26). Sinking dangerously into the religious language of centuries past, a language we can locate nowhere at all on the map of our physical, conceptual world, are the texts of apocalyptic mystics and even epistles of the Apostle Paul. Paul s explanation of his experience on the Damascus Road is rich with the language of the apocalyptic mystics, particularly those of the merkabah mystic tradition. Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte in his article on the rapture of Paul says: The genre of apocalyptic must have originated in circles of ecstatic mystics who developed a literary corpus that at the same time enabled them to communicate their experiences to a broader audience while also focusing on the literary i.e. fictional settings and characters they chose for their writings (Peerbolte 2008, 152). The possibility of the genre of apocalyptic writing springing out of a context in which visions were practiced is highly important when trying to understand this literary genre. This consideration is all the more important in the study of Paul, since he could have been thoroughly influenced by apocalyptic ideas (Peerbolte 2008, 160). Though Paul was reluctant to communicate his personal experience in his remaining letters, 7

9 there remains still a noteworthy exception in his mention of his conversion experience. As a result, Peerbolte says this specific experience receives so much attention that it has been deemed the origin of the whole of Paul s gospel (2008, 160). In the article Jewish Interpretation of Paul in the Last Thirty Years, authors Bird and Sprinkle state that Paul s vocabulary that he used to describe his conversion/transformation exhibits uncanny resemblance to other Jewish mystical texts. They point out that terms such as image, form, transform, and glory are all used by early apocalyptic mystics to refer to their ecstatic experiences with the divine, showing that Paul can be firmly placed on the grid of early Jewish apocalyptic mysticism (Bird and Sprinkle 2008, 361). Paul is known to have had at least eight visions, but the visions, argues Bowker, are by no means all one of a kind. He points out that some of the visions have no connection with merkabah visions at all, and admits that it would be methodologically absurd to assume all visions were merkabah visions. However, the comparison of Paul s visions with other merkabah material suggests that the visions of 2 Corinthians 12, and on the road to Damascus, arose from a base of merkabah contemplation (Bowker 1971, 159) (Scott 1971, 113). The description Paul gave in 2 Corinthians 12:1-11 inevitably lead to the conclusion that the experience described here was indeed fundamental to Paul. Peerbolte quotes James D. Tabor s Things Unutterable on the importance of 2 Corinthians 12. He says that this passage is a precious bit of evidence of an actual experience of ascent to heaven from the early Roman imperial period (Tabor 1986, 1). Tabor goes on to say Paul s text is the only firsthand account of such a journey to haven from this period (emphasis Tabor). 8

10 Analyzing the Greek text, Peerbolte notes the language in which Paul describes his experience indicate that the experience described in vv. 2-4 is only one out of several similar events. For example, Paul repeatedly asserts that he does not know whether the experience that occurred was inside the body or outside of it (v.2). Typically, notes Peerbolte, this emphasis is frequently understood as an indication that Paul is fully aware of the fact that in Jewish tradition a rapture experience was usually considered something that happened to an entire person, soul and body (Peerbolte 2008, ). In the case of Paul, images from the Hebrew Bible are the fuel for his thoughts, which break out into new ideas. It seems that Paul cannot break himself away from the images that shaped his experience, which he had dwelt on throughout his probable training on the glory around God s throne. Peerbolte notes that when Paul had been informed and encouraged by that training, he saw the light of the image of God shine about him as he dwelt on the figure on the throne (Griffith-Jones 2004, 83). Conclusion After a brief look at what is known about throne-chariot mysticism in the Jewish tradition and the language of merkabah mysticism in Jewish apocalyptic mystics, one could conclude that throne-chariot mysticism has indeed influenced the Apostle Paul. Though this may have at first seemed like an obscure subject, especially with the term mysticism involved, this paper has hopefully shown it is very important to understanding Paul s conception of his own apostleship. 9

11 Bibliography Alan Segal. Paul the Convert. New York: Yale University Press, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte, Paul s Rapture: 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 and the Language of Mystics. In Experientia Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity, edited by Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, Chad Meister and J.B. Stump, The Apostle Paul: His Thought and Context. In Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction, New York: Routledge, Colleen Shantz, The Confluence of Trauma and Transcendence in the Pauline Corpus. In Experientia Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity, edited by Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, Griffith-Jones, Robin. The Gospel According to Paul: The Creative Genius Who Brought Jesus to the World. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Harold W. Attridge, trans., The NRSV HarperCollins Study Bible, Revised and Updated Hardcover with Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books. (New York: Harper One 2006). James M. Scott, Throne-Chariot Mysticism in Qumran and in Paul. In Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Craig A. Evans and Peter W. Flint, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, J.W. Bowker, Merkabah Visions and the Visions of Paul, J Semitic Studies (1971): Michael F. Bird and Preston M. Sprinkle, Jewish Interpretation of Paul in the Last Thirty Years, Currents in Biblical Research (2008): 361. Troels Engberg-Pedersen, The Construction of Religious Experience in Paul. In Experientia Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity, edited by Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature,