Two Powers Theology a Stunning Confirmation of the Christ-Centered Model

What is two powers theology? A professor of Hebrew described it for me this way: A significant minority Jewish position pre-70 AD saw two YHWHs in the Hebrew Bible (one visible, one invisible). The visible YHWH shows up in many ways, particularly as the Angel of YHWH (also, the Word, the Presence, and others). Simply put, this is Jewish binitarianism, providing the theological backdrop to Trinitarianism. This is why it was declared heresy by the Jews after the rise of Christianity. So it’s both grounded in the OT text (wthin human authorial intent) and receives progressive revelation in the NT.

Here is a link to a long Michael Heiser video on the Hebrew "Two Powers" theology. It gives the scriptural support for the position described above. He also gives a brief written introduction to the idea when writing about a book called "The Two Powers of Heaven". Part of what he says is this...

For the orthodox Israelite, Yahweh was both sovereign and vice regent—occupying both “slots” as it were at the head of the divine council. The binitarian portrayal of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible was motivated by this belief. The ancient Israelite knew two Yahwehs—one invisible, a spirit, the other visible, often in human form. The two Yahwehs at times appear together in the text, at times being distinguished, at other times not.

 Early Judaism understood this portrayal and its rationale. There was no sense of a violation of monotheism since either figure was indeed Yahweh. There was no second distinct god running the affairs of the cosmos.

 Dr. Heiser and I don't see everything alike. He sees the "Divine Council" everywhere in the Old Testament scriptures, and I see Christ everywhere in the Old Testament scriptures. I do think there is such a council, but the text is really pointing to Christ. The incarnation is not God's back-up plan that He had to resort to once things failed to go as He anticipated. It was His plan. From the beginning. The human-like form of God in the Old Testament was the Son all along.

I did not know about Two Powers theology in history when I wrote Early Genesis, the Revealed Cosmology. But its a stunning confirmation of everything I wrote about the Theophanies, some of which is in this video....

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