THE NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST—PART 3WHO IS “THE SON OF MAN”?

© Orest Solyma July, 1999 (Revised from July, 1996)The Church of God in Williamstown

Web Site: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~sanhub/index.htm

INTRODUCTIONIn editing and re-examining the sermon Who Is the Son of Man? I’m awed more and more, and continue to be, by the powerful implications of what I’m attempting to convey—an enigmatic reflection of some extraordinary truth (1Cor 13:12). The subject is far from complete.

A few days before the Passover of 30 A.D., Jesus was in the village of Bethany at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha (Jn 12:1-11). The Scripture tells us that the chief priests took counsel to murder Lazarus (v 10), no doubt to eliminate the proof of his resurrection. Verses 12-19 tell of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (see also Mt 21:4-9; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-44) and the excited responses from the masses of people calling out Hosanna! In effect meaning: Grant us the salvation of the Kingdom of God (see Ps 118:25-26; and TDNT, Vol IX, pp 682-4). In discussion with the apostles and curious onlookers, He made the comment that He would be “lifted up from the earth,’ i.e., crucified and resurrected. The onlookers’ response was:

Jn 12:34 We have heard from the Law (perhaps from Mic 4:7; Is 9:7; Dan 7:14; Ps 89:36-37; 110:4) that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this Son of Man? (o` ui`o.j tou/ avnqrw,pou, ho hios tou anthrÇpou; i.e., literally, the Son of the Man).

Jesus’ reply seems conducive to further meaningful discussion for hearers:In Jn 12:35-36 Jesus replied, “A little while longer the Light is with you. Walk while you have the Light (for Christ is the Light of the world; Jn 1:4-5,9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5), lest Darkness overtake you; he who walks in Darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Quite evidently, Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the Bread of Life, the Son of God, is also identified as the Son of Man—a title used 80 times in the Gospels and in Acts 7:56; Heb 2:6; Rev 1:13 and 14:14. Yet this title and self-designation causes endless controversy and yarn-spinning in theological circles. Raymond E. Brown in his An Introduction to New Testament Christology says (and similarly with numerous other scholars): “There is massive modern disagreement about whether this was a title in Jesus’ time, what it may have meant, and whether Jesus used it himself” (p 89).

A REVIEW—FROM PARTS 1 AND 2Let’s briefly review aspects of the previous papers: Was Jesus “True God and True Man”? and The Incarnation. The nature of God and of the Son of God are the greatest mysteries and controversies of Christianity (e.g., see Prov 30:4; Ps 2:7-12; Jn 17:3; Heb 1:1-4; 1Tim 3:16). Since Jesus Christ is the Son of Man, as shall be conclusively shown, and since He is King of kings and Lord of lords, knowing Him and His Father is vital to the development of righteous civilization and personal salvation, as the Scriptures show (e.g., Heb 8:11 for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them; Jn 7:29; 8:55-56; 14:7; 15:20-21; Phil 3:10; 1Jn 2:3-6; 3:1-2).

In Jn 6:65,69 Jesus said to His disciples and then some left as followers: “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father” (Those who left did not have the revelatory experiences of being drawn to the Father through the Son, v 44). 69 (The remaining disciples responded): “Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The Son of God, with the title and name the Son of Man given to Him (cp. Ex 23:21), manifested Himself numerous times, as the OT shows, and as substantiated by the NT. The Bible has many instances where patriarchs and prophets saw a Messenger, Angel of the LORD, a Lord (Ps 110:1), an Elohim, i.e., God/[a] God: e.g., Gn 3:9-19, where the pre-incarnate Christ spoke to Adam and Eve; Gn 4:6-15, where the pre-incarnate Jesus spoke to Cain; Gn 16:7-13, where the Son of God spoke to Hagar; Gn 32:1-2,22-32, which records Jacob’s wrestle with Christ, and Hos 12:3-6 confirms this; Ex 3:2-4,16 shows us that the Son of God manifested Himself in the burning bush; Acts 7:29-41,51-53 shows us that Stephen knew that the God who spoke to the patriarchs was the Son of God; and 1Cor 10:1-4 tells us that the pre-incarnate Jesus led Israel through the Exodus wilderness. These appearances are called theophanies, i.e., pre-incarnate manifestations of the Son of God, the Messenger/Angel of the LORD (and not God the Father; Jn 1:18; 5:47; 6:46; 1Jn 4:12; 1Tim 1:17). The saints of the OT and the NT worship the same God, the God and Father of the Son of God, who also serves as High Priest and prays to His God and Father (Jn 17:1ff.; 14:16; Rev 1:6; Heb 7:24-25).

Salvation depends on knowing the Father who sent the Son, as Jn 17:3, in the context of Christ’s prayer tells us:

Jn 17:3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.Jn 8:19 records Pharisees asking Jesus, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me (i.e., in spirit and in truth) nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”In Jn 8:54-56 Jesus answered (the Pharisees), “If I honour Myself, My honour is nothing. It is My Father who honours Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him (Can we imagine the Servant of God telling religious leaders, who institutionally control dogma and doctrine, that they do not know God? Are not many religious leaders the same today—not knowing the God of Scripture for they argue about who He is?), but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Abraham knew the Messiah and His God, which is integral to the Gospel (cf. Gal 3:6-9). But the Pharisees, corrupted by false notions about the nature of God, could not imagine God having a Son, and so accused Him falsely: Jn 10:33 records their scorn: We’re not going to stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God. Jn 5:18 tells us that the Jews who refused to believe Him believed that because He said God was His Father He made Himself equal to God—which is not what Jesus claimed. Liars persistently falsify what they hear.

Jn 10:36 has Jesus Christ responding to Pharisees who said that He was teaching that He is God: “Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

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The fact that the Father is greater, was greater, will forever be greater than the Son of God—and not according to the biblically-illogical view that the Son chooses to be subordinate and inferior—is given in:

1Cor 15:24,28 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God (the Father) may be all in all (panta en pasin—the same phrase is used in 1Cor 12:6 and Eph 1:23 [by His Spirit]).

Christ tells us that all goodness is attributable to the Father (Mt 19:17; Mk 10:18; Lk 18:19). Consistently, Jesus puts primary focus on His God and Father—to the very end:

Rev 1:6 says that Jesus Christ “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Christ is the High Priest who leads the divine realm in worship of the Father; He is our High Priest, we who are formed into a Kingdom of priests as was promised in unfulfilled hope to Israel in Ex 19:5-6. The promise applies to the Church, as the apostle Peter says in 1Pet 2:9: You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood (and of the Order of Melchizedek; Heb 7 & 8), a holy nation, His own special people—chosen by God just as God’s only begotten Son was, v 4—His own special people, that we might proclaim the praises of Him (i.e., the Father) who called us out of Darkness into His marvelous Light (i.e., Jesus Christ, who is the Light of this world).

Rev 2:26,27 adds: He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—27 … as I also have received from My Father.Rev 3:12 again adds: He who overcomes, I (i.e., Jesus Christ) will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the Name of My God and the Name of the City of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new Name.

Our paper, HREF="http://www.ozramp.net.au/~sanhub/Immutab.htm, discusses the nature of the God and Father of Jesus Christ (See, for example, Jn 20:17; 2Cor 1:3; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:3,17; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2-3; Heb 1:9; 1Pet 1:3; Rev 1;1,6; 5:10).

The dogma of the trinity teaches that Christ’s pre-existence is in hypostatic union with the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This is untenable biblically, philosophically and logically, for it is based on Platonic, Neo-Platonic, Stoic and Gnostic speculations unfounded in Scripture (see The Incarnation, pp 2ff. for proofs of admission by theologians; and the endnote on Hypostasis [J. Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, UCP, 1971, pp 47-54; C.M. LaCugna, God For Us, HarperCollins, 1991, pp 82-3, 91-6]). The trinity dogma denies an individuated Spirit existence for the Father and the Son but supposedly allows for individuated existence for all kinds of saints and even a Queen of Heaven (an adaptation of the Cosmic Mother or Earth Mother, as in many pagan cosmologies; e.g., see G. Ashe, The Virgin, RKP, 1976), who is apparently a queen entity with a non-entity, universal soul, and King.

God is a spirit (Jn 4:24), and not, as misleadingly translated, God is spirit. God created all the spirits of Heaven and the spirit in man, and the Power of God is manifested by the Spirit that flows from Him (Ps 139:7; Jer 23:24; Lk 1:35). Each of us needs to understand the truth of the Incarnation of the pre-existent Son of God who is Divine, who is eternal, who is executive Creator, Redeemer, who is not, was not, will not be co-equal with the Father (as 1Cor 14:24,28; Rev 1:6; 5:10 make plain). The implications of that will be dealt with in a subsequent paper, The Origin of the Son of God.Let’s note biblical connections with the previous material (in Parts 1 and 2) with the Son of Man title used so much in the NT.

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ADAM AND THE SON OF MANThere are two major NT references to the typology of the first man, Adam, the Second Adam and the Son of Man. They are in Rom 5 and 1Cor 15.

In Rom 5:12,14,17-19 we read: Therefore, just as through one man (i.e., Adam, who also represents mankind) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (because the carnal mind is at enmity with God, Rom 8:7; and is deceitful, Jer 17:9).14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses (We might ask: Did death have no impact after Moses? Of course it did! From Adam to Moses all the saints, in common belief with the NT saints, knew that the wages of sin is death. The prophetic life of Moses was a benchmark in salvation history in that Moses foreshadowed the One who would lead the Israel of God as Dt 18:15-19; Jn 1:45; Acts 3:22-23; 7:37-39 show)—

Israel was baptized into Moses (1Cor 10:2) and was brought out of Egypt into the promised land. The Israel of God (Gal 6:16) is baptized into Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; Rom 6:3) and is brought into the Kingdom of God

[Death reigned from Adam to Moses] even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (How was Adam a type of Christ? In that the nature of God, primarily His love and mercy, requires answer to the wages of sin). 17 (Paul continues with the typology): For if by the one man’s offence death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offence judgment came upon all men, resulting in condemnation (for the carnal mind is enmity against God and the Law), even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift (of grace) came to all men (who choose to accept it), resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were (inevitably) made sinners, so also by one Man’s (perfect) obedience many will be made righteous.

Just as the carnal man cannot but in weakness blindly, ignorantly, even willfully sin, so the spiritual man always turns to God, even though he sins in weakness or ignorance, but eventually repents and always rejoices in the mercy and advocacy of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (Ps 19:12-14).

First Corinthians 15 and Rom 5 introduce us to the concept of the first man, Adam, and the second Man, the Son of God, the Redeemer of us all:

1Cor 15:21-22,45-49 For since by [the] man [Adam] came death, by [the] Man [Jesus Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual (The natural foreshadows the spiritual and the spiritual requires that perfection come by experience of the natural; Jesus Christ was perfected by the suffering of obedience; Heb 5:8-9; 2:10; Gal 5:17). 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man—(foreknown before creation as 1Pet 1:19-20; Tit 1:2 show)—is the Lord from Heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the Heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly Man.

Who is this Heavenly Man? What is the origin of this name? And what do we notice in the use of typology in these two epistles by the apostle Paul? And what connection does this have

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in our knowing that we are made in the image of God and the Son of God is the perfect image of His Father (Col 1:15)?Many ancient myths (e.g., Arabic, Babylonian, Canaanite, Greek, Persian, Roman, Gnostic) speak of the father of the gods as having a pre-eminent son who is the son of the Man—the Man who is the father of the entire pantheon (i.e., the entire godhead). In the pagan myths, the gods (elohim and theoi) fight amongst themselves for positions, privileges, and worship. Many people give the Queen of Heaven more worship than they do God the Father yet claim monotheism. In the Council of God, all the gods (i.e., elohim, theoi, the elders, cherubim, seraphim, archangels, angels) worship the One Almighty GOD (e.g., Rev 4,5,6).

Many sources verify this, though they may not personally agree that the writers of the OT and NT used this background cultural knowledge: e.g., C. Colpe, TDNT, Eerdmans, 1972, Vol VIII, pp 400-77; James D.G. Dunn, Christology in the Making, SCM, 1989, pp 64-97; W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament, SCM, 1961,1987, Vol 1, p 488; Vol II, pp 194-200; D.S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, Westminster, 1964, pp 324-52; F.F. Bruce, New Testament History, Doubleday-Galilee, 1980, pp 131-3,173-7; Alan Richardson, An Introduction to the New Testament, SCM, 1958, pp 141-4; O. Cullman, Christology of the New Testament, SCM, 1959, pp 137-192; R.E. Brown An Introduction to New Testament Christology, Paulist Press, 1994, pp 88-100. The volume of literature on this subject is enormous. Part 3a cites and further considers such sources.

ORIGIN OF THE TITLE: SON OF MANSince the ancient cultural background to the name is vast and complex, let’s look at use of the title in the NT. The Sabbath was introduced at the creation described in Gen 1 and 2. See the paper, HREF="http://www.ozramp.net.au/~sanhub/sabbath.htm, which deals with the universality of the Sabbath and its being a creation ordinance, which is verified in Scripture and admitted by many scholars.

Mk 2:27 says:The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (for mankind is to be saved, as the typology of the Sabbaths reveals. Rejection of the Sabbaths rejects the biblical typology outlining the Plan of Salvation for other forms of salvation and hence incurs the wrath of God, as illustrated in Ezk 20).

No other NT writer uses Mark’s words. In consequence, many scholars discuss this and conclude that the Sabbath is void (‘Mark must have made this up’), thus ignoring the creation ordinance and the words of the prophets (e.g., Is 56; Ezk 20). Mk 2:28 concludes the thought (Mt 8:20; Lk 6:5):

Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.Why does the Scripture not say: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath! or Christ is Lord of the Sabbath! or The Son of God is Lord of the Sabbath!? Why is the Son of Man Lord of the Sabbath?

The New International Dictionary of NT Theology says: “We find ourselves on an unusual path if we trace Mk 2:27-8 back to a Heb. ben ’~d~m (son of man/Adam) tradition. For then this text is understood as a reference to the creation story: “The Sabbath was made for Adam and not Adam for the Sabbath, hence the Son of Adam [ben ’~d~m] is Lord even of the Sabbath.”’ ... (C E B Cranfield, The Gospel According to St Mark, 1963, 118, and W L Lane, The Gospel of Mark, NLC, 1974, 120, regard the saying as a comment by Mark, addressed to the reader. More probably, Jesus here expresses his own authority as the leader of God’s people to whom the Sabbath has been given”). (O. Michel, p 623, in the article the son of man; pp 613-634).

Perhaps we recognize that the title, the Son of Man, does not mean that Jesus is the son of mankind. However, there is allusion to His being the salvational Adam, where Adam

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foreshadows sinning mankind. Rom 5 and 1Cor 15 suggest those meanings, but is there more? The title, Son of Man, occurs 84 times in the NT—30 times in Matthew, 13 in Mark, 25 in Luke, 12 in John, in Acts 7:56, Heb 2:6, Rev 1:13 and 14:14. There are also references suggesting “Man”, “a Man”, “the Man”, as in Mt 13:24-37; 18:23 [Man-king]; 26:72, 74; Mk 15:39; Lk 14:16; 19:12; 23:4,14,47; Jn 2:25 [the One]; 4:29; 5:12; 7:46; 11:50, 51; 18:29; 19:5.

Many scholars and Bible commentators tell the reader that Matthew, Mark, Luke, John do not seem to explain the title, but assume that the hearers will understand it. The name does indeed have a rich cultural and historical background and deep biblical significance.

The Gospel of John, in the first chapter, uses about 17 titles such as the Word, Life, Light, Christ, the Prophet, the Son of God, Rabbi, King of Israel, and the very last, in v 51, is Son of Man. “... the origin and meaning of o` ui`o.j tou/ avnqrw,pou

o hios tou anthrÇpou the Son of (the) Man

is one of the central problems of New Testament research. That the expression appears in the Gospels as Jesus’ favorite self-designation, and is used almost exclusively by him, suggests to many scholars that it may hold the key to Jesus’ own understanding of his person and mission. Yet the Gospels never explain the significance of this peculiar appellation. Consequently, though the designation has been the object of intensive scholarly study since the beginning of critical research, there is still no consensus concerning its origin or significance. Far from agreeing that the problem has been solved, some scholars are asking whether it is soluble” (Delbert Burkett, The Son of Man in the Gospel of John, JSOT, 1991, p 11).

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW AND “THE SON OF MAN”The first NT use is in Mt 8:20, in the context of a scribe saying to Jesus, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go!”

Mt 8:20-22 Jesus responded to the scribe, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another disciple said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Christ was in effect saying, ‘Disciples are sojourners and pilgrims whose Rest is in God and whose home is the Holy City, as it was with Abraham and the faithful described in Hebrews 11. Furthermore, enduring disciples do not find excuses in indefinitely delaying their calling—for then one is spiritually-dead and is busied looking after the spiritually-dead—a dead-end job.’ The second use of the title is again in response to scribes in Mt 9:6 (also Mk 2:10; Lk 5:26) who queried Jesus about His supposedly blasphemous statement to the healed paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven.”

“[I want you to] know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

It’s already clear that Jesus is telling us He is the Son of Man. Rejection of this self-designation seems to be in the class of logic that says: “I choose to believe what I believe because I want to believe what I believe.” What causes a Hindu, a voodoo animist, a Shi’ite, not to believe the Book of Mormon? And what causes each of them to not believe what another believer believes? How does truth enter? Rom 8:9,14, 1Cor 2:11-13, Jn 6:44-45,65 give the answers.

Mt 10:23 tells us that before the Gospel is preached in all the world the Son of Man, the Messiah, would return to the earth. Mt 12:8 (Mk 2:27, Lk 6:5) reveals that the Son of Man is

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Lord of the Sabbath. Mt 12:32 (and Lk 12:10) says that blasphemy against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but not against the Holy Spirit, which is the means by which Christ works and worked and the means by which each of us sees, hears, and does that which is truly of God. We might curse the Name of Christ but are not forgiven for cursing the work Christ does in and with His co-heirs. Though people derided and killed the prophets, the words of the prophets prove true and live. Distortion and suppression of God’s Truth brings death (Rev 22:18-19; Dt 13:1-6; Rom 1:18).

Mt 12:40 has Christ telling us:For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah was swallowed by a sea beast, perhaps typifying Satan, the monster of the deep and the seas (seas and rivers are pictured as peoples and nations, and leaders of empires in Rev 17:15; Is 8:7; Ezk 29:3; Isa 51:9). The prophet preached repentance to the Gentiles of the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, following his own resurrection after being dumped from the mouth of the monster. The resurrected Christ, after having been murdered at the instigation of Satan, empowered His apostles to preach the Gospel to all the world: that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem (Lk 24:47).

In the explanation of the parable of the tares, we learn that the tares are sown by the Devil and the good seed is sown by the Son of Man (Mt 13:37). It is the Son of Man who removes all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness (Mt 12:40).

Mt 16:13, set in Caesarea Philippi, near modern Banias, in the far north of Israel, records the question, Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am? Peter replies that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God (v 16).

Mt 16:27 quotes Jesus Christ: “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

A vital part of the Millennial rule of the Son of God is expressed in Mt 19:28:Jesus said to the apostles, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration (i.e., the resurrection), when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Just before Christ’s final entry into Jerusalem, He took the apostles aside and said to them:Mt 20:17-18 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.”

Then, in v 28—in the context of Who will be the greatest?—Jesus said to His disciples: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (the Will of God in everything), and to give His life as a ransom for many. We again have conclusive and simple evidence that Christ is the Son of Man!Mt 24 records the Olivet Prophecy. Five verses use the title we’re examining. Verse 27, in the context of warnings of false christs, says: For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (and not a coming that is in secret or to some isolated place). Verse 30 adds: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn; they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Verses 37-39 describe the general psychological and sociological conditions with respect to the Coming: As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood,

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people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Verse 44 gives the last use in Mt 24: Therefore you also be ready. For the Son of Man is coming at an hour (a metaphor for a season or period of time that could be broadly taken) when you do not expect Him.

THE SON OF MAN IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHNWe’ve looked at more than half of the references to the title as Matthew used it; now let’s consider some of the references in John. The first is at the end of John 1, when Christ calls Nathanael to be one of the twelve.

Jn 1:47-51 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael responded, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 Then Jesus added, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you shall see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

As with any few verses, one can readily go into lengthy discussion, but let’s note that last sentence. Perhaps we’re reminded of Jacob’s visionary dream at Bethel (meaning, “House of El” [God, The Mighty One]), recorded in Genesis 28, in which he saw a stairway or ladder from where he was up to Heaven with angels ascending and descending. That is, Jacob was assured that all his life was under the constant care of God’s ministering spirits (Heb 1:14), that he had ever-present access and help from God. How the promise to Nathanael was fulfilled I don’t know, but we should not miss the allusion that Jacob knew that the Messiah, the Son of God, was also known as the Son of Man. However, it is worth asking, Why didn’t Christ say, “Yes, Nathanael, I am the Son of God and King of Israel”? In many ways Jesus Christ asks us to discern truth and error, good and evil (Heb 5:14; 1Cor 2:6,10-16; 1Jn 4:1).

The Son of God who descended through incarnation to the earth is the Redeemer who ascended in resurrection to Heaven to sit on the right hand of His God and Father (Rev 3:21):

Jn 3:13-14 informs us that no one else has as yet ascended in resurrection as He has: “No one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in Heaven (So there is, according to the Scriptures, no Queen of Heaven, nor are canonized saints in God’s Heaven). 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (Num 21; for that old Serpent, the Dragon, Satan is the deceiver of the world and false messiah of those seeking an earthly Jerusalem and pseudo-kingdom, rather than the New Jerusalem and Kingdom of God, as Galatians 4:22-31 explains) even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (in crucifixion to die for the sins of all).

The Gospel of John is the perhaps the most comprehensive book of the NT that deals with the mystery of the nature of God. In Jn 6:27, Christ said to the crowds who had been miraculously fed: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Though He said in Jn 6:48, “I am the Bread of Life!”, Christ has further opened up the subject to His relationship with the Father who, in putting His seal of anointing on His Son, as the Son of Man, is the means of providing Eternal Life. The subject is magnified in subsequent verses.

In Jn 6:53 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no Life in you.

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Though He is the Bread of Life, Christ, in speaking to us through these verses He spoke in the flesh, spoke as flesh and blood. Human life is in the blood (Lev 17:11,14). We are flesh and blood which perish and we can live only by the Life that is sent by God, i.e., through the Son of Man (for the Father has granted the Son to have Life in Himself, Jn 5:26). And as flesh and blood, we are to walk as He has shown us. The man striving against the flesh, empowered by the Spirit through Jesus Christ, lives according to the Spirit and will be transformed at the resurrection (1Cor 15:20-24,35,42-53).

Jn 8:28 is another reference to Christ warning His disciples that He would be crucified. Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up (in crucifixion) the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” Shortly after saying this, He expressed to the disciples the joy and victory of His suffering as was foreknown from before creation of the Lamb of God (1Pet 1:19-20).

In Jn 12:23, in the context of the parable of the grain seed falling on the ground to die and then rise as a new life, Jesus said to the disciples, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”

THE LAST NT REFERENCES TO THE SON OF MANare perhaps the most profound, for they summarize the entire biblical meaning. They appear in this order:

Falsely-accused and arrested, then dragged before the Sanhedrin Council, which represented the finest religious leadership of Israel of the day, Stephen, a mighty servant of God, explained his preaching of the Gospel. He gave an exposition of the national history which they, just as Cain agreed with Abel, followed, until he began dealing with the nature of the Son of God. He told them they resisted the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Truth, which they could not recognize as Christ taught it. He poured fire on their heads in telling them they, like their pseudo-spiritual forefathers, which were not Abraham nor Moses, were guilty of the murder of the prophets and the Son of God. As their devilish fury exploded, he cried out to them, describing the vision he was experiencing:

Acts 7:56 “Look,” he cried out, “I see Heaven open and the Son of Man is standing at the right hand of God.”

In their doctrine about the nature of God, they were infiltrated with Hellenistic philosophy, an ideology alien to Christ’s own explanations which they rejected. It was, in their perverse thinking, impossible for God to have a Son—anyway, they were children of the Devil, as Christ told them: You are of your father the Devil (Jn 8:44).

Many of the first chapters of NT books deal with the nature of God, and Hebrews 1 and 2 are extraordinary. Since Heb 2:6 uses the Son of Man title as a quote from Ps 8, let’s turn to it after looking at the two references in Rev 1:13 and 14:14.

Revelation chapters 1,4,5 deal with the nature of God and the Son of God. We’re told that the Revelation was given by the Father to the Son, who gave it to an angel, who gave it to John, who has given it to us (1:1). There is blessing to those who read and hear (v 3). And we’re told that those who are Christ’s are made by Him into a Kingdom of priests for the God and Father of Jesus Christ (v 6). Chapter 1 develops in preparation for the messages to the seven churches, symbols of the entire church throughout history. Verse 13, which is part of a rich series of symbols, says:

In the midst of the seven golden lampstands (symbols of the purged 7 churches) (there was) One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

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Rev 2:18 is the only reference to the Son of God in this final NT book. There is, however, one other reference to the Son of Man. Rev 14 describes the twelve tribes of the Israel of God as the 144,000 who follow the Lamb of God, who are the redeemed, and the firstfruits of God in the resurrection. The messages of three angels are briefly referred to, the curses upon those who worship the Beast are given, and then the Coming is described:

Rev 14:14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.

SON OF MAN IN THE OTOne “like the Son of Man” is also mentioned in the OT. Daniel 7 recounts the vision of four Beasts (world empires; see NIV, NJB, NRSV footnotes) with the fourth (v 7) described as ‘dreadful, exceedingly strong;’ (Rev 13:4 asks: Who is like the Beast? Who can make war with him?); ‘it has huge iron teeth’ (symbols of high-technology destruction; and Satan devours his children); ‘it devours and tramples down the residue’ of any resistance; it has ten horns (symbols of leaders over kingdoms, as Rev 12:3; 13:1; 17:12-13; 18:10 show). As the geopolitical state of the world gathers juggernaut momentum against Truth and the saints, the Heavenly Council (see Rev 4,5,6) is seen convened in Daniel’s vision:

Dan 7:8-9a I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. 9 I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated ….

T.J. Meadowcroft in his Aramaic Daniel and Greek Daniel, JSOTS,198, 1995, pp 198-234, says that “the Ancient of Days is a figure representative of the God of Israel, and to be identified with the Most High who appears elsewhere in ch. 7. As will become clearer later in this discussion, the relationship of the Ancient of Days to the son of man is therefore analogous to the relationship between the Most High and the holy ones” (pp 200-1). The following translation is adapted from Theodotian’s LXX (ibid. p 306) and the NKJ:

Dan 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, One like the Son of Man came in the clouds of heaven, came to One like the Ancient of Days, and they (elohim about the Throne and thrones, v 9; see and compare Rev 4:2-4,9; 5:1-2,7,11-12) brought Him (the Son of Man) before Him (the Ancient of Days). 14 Authority was given to Him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His authority is an eternal authority, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall never be destroyed.

Ps 8 is an older reference than Daniel to the Son of Man. Ps 8:1-6 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth (to those who recognize who God is)! You have set your Glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise (cited by Jesus Christ in response to the puerile criticism of scribes and chief priests [Mt 21:16]: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You [the LORD] have perfected praise!) because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger (cp. Ps 2:1-3,10-12). 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man[kind] that you are mindful of him, the Son of Man that you care for Him? (Ps 22:24; Heb 5:7) 5 You made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings (or, angels) and crowned Him with glory and honor. 6 You made Him ruler over the works of your hands; You put everything under his feet.

Let’s consider how Hebrews interprets this.

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Heb 2:5-9 For He (the Father) has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man[kind] that You (the Almighty God) are mindful of him (i.e., should bother Yourself with this corruptible and self-corrupting, self-deceiving humanity), or the Son of Man that You take care of Him (so that He should be the means of salvation of mankind)? 7 You have made Him a little lower than the angels (NT angeloi; LXX angeloi; Heb elohim; cf. Ps 8:5). You have crowned Him with glory and honour, and set Him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under His feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we do not yet see all things put under Him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

It is clear that the NT view is that Jesus Christ is the One who was made a little lower that the angels, i.e., the other angelic beings about the Throne of the Ancient of Days. Glory is given to Him and He reveals the Glory of God to those called, chosen, and faithful. In comparing Heb 1 and Ps 45, we find similar parallels. For the Ancient of Days says to His Son, the Son of the Man,

“Your throne, O God (Theos or Elohim), is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness (in Your pre-incarnate state, unlike those who went with Lucifer [Is 14:12-14; Ezk 28:14-17], and in Your Incarnation) and You hated lawlessness (cp. Mt 7:21-23); therefore God (Theos), Your God (Theos), has anointed You (a messianic reference) with the oil of gladness more than Your companions (in the divine host)” (Heb 1:8-9; Ps 45:6-7).

The Jesuit, L. Sabourin, suggests M. Dahood’s “The eternal and everlasting God has enthroned you!” as an alternative to Ps 45:6a (The Psalms, Their Origin and Meaning, Alba House, 1974, p 350). We have here a clear statement that the title Elohim is applied both to the Father, the Ancient of Days, Eloah (singular of Elohim), and to the Son of the Father, the Son of God, who is the Elohim above all the elohim in Heaven other than His Father. Ex 23:21 tells us that the Name of the Father is given to Him, i.e., many, if not all titles of the Father are attributable to the Son.

Ps 80, like Psalms 75-77, 81, 84-85, has a superscription in the LXX that includes the phrase, “For the end [times]”, as is used in Mt 24:13,14, 1Cor 15:24. Since 1Chr 25:1-2 and 2Chr 29:30 tell us that the writer of this Psalm, Asaph, was a prophet, I accept that psalms by Asaph are prophetic.

Ps 80:14-17 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from Heaven and see, and visit this Vine (i.e., Israel, the Vine that was brought out of Egypt, v 8, which the pre-incarnate Son of Man delivered, 1Cor 10:1-4; the Vine is a type of the Israel of God to be delivered from the fury of the whole world [Dan 12:1-3]). 15 And the Vineyard (Is 5:1-7; Ps 80: 8-15; Mt 20:1-16) which Your right hand has planted, and the Son (Heb ben; not Branch) that You made strong for Yourself. 16 It [the Vineyard] is burned with fire (cp. Ezk 5:1-5), it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the Man of Your right hand, upon the Son of Man whom You made strong for Yourself (or, from the JB: May your hand protect the man at your right hand, the son of man who has been authorized by you).

Again, we must note the consistency these verses show with so much in the OT and NT texts. Manipulation of translation is necessary to diminish true biblical impact so that false dogmas might increasingly prosper in what Jacques Ellul calls subverted Christianity (The Subversion of Christianity, Eerdmans, 1988).

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Proverbs 30:4 has stunning significance. (See D. Burkett, The Son of Man in the Gospel of John, JSOT Press, 1991, pp 51-75, The Son of Man in Proverbs 30.1-4). Readers might be amazed at the variety of translations of the first verses: e.g., NRSV, NEB, NJB, TEV, Moffatt, Young’s Literal, LXX, Vulgate, Douay-Rheims, The Living Bible. Burkett offers this translation (p 51):

1 Store up my words, my son,receive the oracle,

says the Man to Ithiel (‘God is with me’),to ‘God is with me so that I am able’,

2 for I burn more brightly than a man,and mine is not human understanding;

3 I have not learned wisdom,yet I have knowledge of holy ones.

4 Who has ascended to heaven and descended?Who has gathered wind in his garments?

Who has wrapped water in a mantle?Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name and what is his son’s name? For you know.

The NKJ offers the following forProv 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? (Jn 3:13 tells us: No one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven (as the incarnate Son of God). Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know?

Merely knowing a person’s name is far from knowing the full significance of the name to the name bearer and to the one who has given the name. The Father wants us to know the full meaning of the Name of the Son of Man.

CULTURAL HERITAGE TO THE TITLE THE SON OF MANWith the discovery of 1 Enoch in its complete form in Ethiopia in 1886-1887 and the Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries since 1947, the impact on biblical scholarship is still reverberating. Michael Wise, M. Abegg, E. Cook, in their 1996 publication, The Dead Sea Scrolls, (Hodder & Stoughton and HarperCollins), make the comment:

“Most important, the scrolls, now that we can see them all, testify to the astonishingly rich and fertile literary culture that gave birth to the foundational religious documents of Judaism and Christianity. We find here previously unknown stories about biblical figures such as Enoch, Abraham, and Noah—including a work explaining why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac” (p 3). (See Apocalypse of Abraham, 12-14, in the Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1).

In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1, Ed. J H Charlesworth, Garden City: Doubleday, 1984, the translator of Ethiopian Enoch or 1 Enoch, E. Isaac, says in the Introduction:

“Some New Testament authors seem to have been acquainted with the work, and were influenced by it, including Jude, who quotes it explicitly (1:14f.). At any rate, it is clear that Enochic concepts are found in various New Testament books, including the Gospels and Revelation” (p 8).

Indeed, this work provides a rich background to NT teachings since it is regarded as pre-dating apostolic times by 200 years or more.

“Many early Church Fathers, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria either knew 1 Enoch or were inspired by it. Among those who were familiar

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with 1 Enoch, Tertullian had an exceptionally high regard for it. But beginning in the fourth century, the book came to be regarded with disfavor, and received negative reviews from Augustine, Hilary and Jerome” (p 8).

It is probable that since Enoch is implicitly anti-trinitarian and Augustine’s works are explicitly trinitarian, prejudice against, and rejection of the book grew rapidly as the syncretism of Neo-Platonism, paganism, Church, and State became increasingly powerful. 1 Enoch is decidedly anti-hellenistic and anti-platonic, and it is these false influences that are the basis for the post-Nicaen development of dogma on the nature of God and His Christ.

“[E]ven though Charles [R H Charles, who published a translation of 1 Enoch in 1917] may have exaggerated when he claimed that “nearly all” the writers of the New Testament were familiar with 1 Enoch, there is no doubt that the New Testament world was influenced by its language and thought. It influenced Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 John, Jude (which quotes it directly), and Revelation (with numerous points of contact). There is little doubt that 1 Enoch was influential in molding New Testament doctrines concerning the nature of the Messiah, the Son of Man, the messianic kingdom, demonology, the future, resurrection, final judgment, the whole eschatological theater, and symbolism. No wonder therefore, that the book was highly regarded by many of the earliest apostolic and Church Fathers” (p 10).

The more one studies Church history the more evident it is that from before the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), up to the Cappadocian Fathers (c 360-390 AD), and in the time of Augustine (354-430 AD), the determination to move away from apostolic doctrines was immense. The nature of the Godhead was the real provocation for contention and the ongoing excommunication of heretics.

Let’s look at 1 Enoch use of titles, especially Son of Man, as descriptions of the Messiah and note how these are integral to the NT.

1En 38:2 and when the Righteous One shall appear before the face of the righteous, those elect ones [Col 3:12 eklektoi, chosen or elect ones; Rev 17:14 eklektoi]

40:6 the Elect One [Lk 23:35 ho eklektos, the Elect One; Is 42:1] and the elect ones [Mt 24:22, 24; Mk 13:27] who are clinging onto the Lord of the Spirits [Heb 12:9] ....

Jn 1:41 says: We have found the Messiah [lit. the Anointed One; cf. Ps 2:2; Acts 4:25-26: Is 53:1-3; 61:1], which is translated the Christ. And Jn 4:25: I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ).

1En 46:3-4 This is the Son of Man to whom belongs righteousness, and with whom righteousness dwells... for the Lord of the Spirits has chosen him... This Son of Man ... is the One who would remove the kings and the mighty ones....

48:2 At that hour, that Son of Man was given a name, in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, the Before-Time (the ancient of Days); 3 even before the creation of the sun and the moon, before the creation of the stars (see 2Tim 1:9b; Tit 1:1-2; 1Pet 1:19-20), he was given a name (Ex 23:21 My Name is in Him) in the presence of the Lord of the Spirits. 4 He will become a staff for the righteous ones in order that they may lean on him and not fall. He is the light of the gentiles and he will become the hope of those who are sick in their hearts (see Is 61:1-3; 62:1-2).6 For this purpose (to worship and glorify the Lord of the Spirits) he became the Chosen One... .7 And he has revealed the wisdom of the Lord of the Spirits to the righteous and holy ones (see Is 11:2) ... they will be saved in his name....10 For they (the mighty kings and landowners, v 8) have denied the Lord of the Spirits (Lord of Hosts) and his messiah (the Christ; Jn 1:41; 4:25).

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This last statement is verified in Ps 2:2-3:The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.

1En 49:2 The Elect One stands before the Lord of the Spirits; his glory is forever and ever and his power is unto all generations. 3 In him dwells the spirit of wisdom (2Tim 1:7), the spirit that gives thoughtfulness, the spirit of knowledge and strength, and the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness. 4 He shall judge the secret things. And no one will be able to utter vain things in his presence. For he is the Elect One before the Lord of the Spirits according to his good pleasure.

55:4 Kings, potentates, dwellers upon the earth: You would have to see my Elect One, how he sits in the throne of glory and judges Azaz’el and all his company and his army, in the name of the Lord of the Spirits! (Rev 20:1-3)

61:5 So that they all return and find hope in the day of the Elect One. … 7 And him, the First Word, they shall bless, extol, and glorify with wisdom. … 8 He placed the Elect One on the throne of glory (Rev 3:21); and he shall judge all the works of the holy ones in heaven above, weighing in the balance their deeds. 9 … then they shall all speak with one voice, blessing, glorifying, extolling, sanctifying the name of the Lord of the Spirits.

62:5 … pain shall seize them when they see the Son of Man sitting on the throne of his glory. … 7 For the Son of Man was concealed from the beginning, and the Most High One preserved him in the presence of his power, then he revealed him to the holy and elect ones (cp. Is 51:1-2). 8 The congregation of the holy ones shall be planted, and all the elect ones shall stand before him. 9 On that day, all the kings, the governors, and high officials, and those who rule the earth shall fall before him on their faces, and worship and raise their hopes in that Son of Man; they shall beg and plead for mercy at his feet (see Ps 2:10-12).

63:11 … their faces shall be filled with shame before that Son of Man ...69:27 And they blessed, glorified, and extolled (the Lord) on account of the fact that the

name of that (Son of) Man was revealed to them. .29 ... for that Son of Man has appeared and has seated himself upon the throne of his glory; ... that Son of Man .. shall be strong before the Lord of the Spirits. Here ends the third parable of Enoch.

71:17 So shall there be length of days with the Son of Man, and peace to the righteous ones; his path is upright for the righteous in the name of the Lord of the Spirits forever and ever.

It would seem very worthwhile to note the many allusions one readily makes from the Enoch quotes to the OT and NT. For example, the Lord of the Spirits is surely the equivalent to the Lord of hosts, used about 280 times in the OT, including 53 times in Zechariah. In the NT, we have one reference: The Father of the spirits (Heb 12:9). References in the NT to Christ on the throne at the right hand of His God and Father are recognizable in verses in 1 Enoch.

CONCLUSIONWe know that Jesus Christ was sent by His God and Father to be the means of deliverance from sin. He is the Son of God sent to be our Redeemer. He was sent as the Light of the world to be our exemplar of godliness, of love, compassion, long-suffering, endurance, of wisdom, empowerment by God, and sound-mindedness. Jesus is our Teacher. Christ is our Lord, King, and High Priest to the Kingdom for which we are being prepared. Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the expositor of Truth. The Lamb of God is our Shepherd. He is the Servant of God, as we must be servants of His Father and ours. Perhaps we understand these titles and qualities reasonably well. How well do we understand the meanings inherent in the Name, the Son of Man, or perhaps more accurately, as the NT Greek has, the Son of the Man? We need to draw good conclusions from the material offered.

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In contemplating these things, I often feel the lonely anguish expressed in Hebrews 11. Can we imagine the transcendent singularity of inner feeling, of immeasurable mercy given, of being shepherded in grace, of seeing the inexpressible fatherliness of the One in whose image we were born in the flesh and in whose divine image we are being sanctified? Can we imagine being brought into the communal presence of others, whose names are also in the Book of Life? How strong is that sense of completely belonging to God, as the apostle Paul so often referred to and as king David wrote in music and lyrics?

Ps 139:1-6 O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, and You have laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I’m overcome by it.

The apostle John expressed the same joy and hope in a wider inclusive sense—inclusive of all the saints throughout history since Adam:

1Jn 3:1-2 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made (fully) known. But we know that when He (the Son of Man, then the Father with the New Jerusalem) appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

We know we are created and are being sanctified in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:26-27; 9:6b), just as the Son of Man is in the image of the invisible God, [and this Son of Man is] the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:16; Rev 3:14; 2Cor 4:4). We also know that profound Truth: the absolutely faithful relationship that exists between the Father and the Son, who was chosen as the Lamb and Messiah, who would be the means of redemption (1Pet 1:19-20), the Life and Light of the world, and bringer of the Gospel (2Tim 1:9), and who would be the One through whom eternal Life was promised from before time began (Tit 1:1-2).

Earlier we referred to Ps 8 and Heb 2, which ask two supreme questions: Why should the Almighty God of infinite wisdom bother with puny mankind? Why should the Almighty care to send the Son of Man through the Incarnation to save mankind?

Christ is the second Adam, or the second Man, the Son of the Man, “the Man” who is the Father of all the hosts of Heaven. We have anthropomorphic language used to help us identify ourselves as children of the Mighty God in wording we can comprehend. Just as the pagan pantheons have a First Man, a Primal Man, and have lost, by distortions, the knowledge given by the ancient patriarchs, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and others, so the true Godhead has a Father God who has deigned to call Himself the Man, with a Son of promise, as Abraham and Isaac foreshadowed. Our monotheism is in that we supremely worship the One Father. We worship no angelic beings, nor non-existent-in-heaven saints, nor any illusionary queen. We fully worship the Father, and certainly honour the Son.

We know—do we not?—that the relationship of the Ancient of Days to the Son of the Man corresponds to the relationship between the Most High God and the holy ones, the saints, the elect, the children of God, who are being prepared as a Kingdom of priests with the Son of the Man as our High Priest. The name, Son of the Man, takes on the meaning and purpose of creation: the creation of man, the salvation of mankind, the relationship of the Father and Son, the relationship of the children of God to the Son and His Father, i.e., all those of mankind

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accepting salvation by the Son of the Man become children of GOD, elohim in the resurrection, but greater than the angels.

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