Dr. Margaret Barker’s new book, The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God, argues conclusively that Yahweh, the God of Israel, was not the Father of Jesus, but Jesus Christ himself. Furthermore, the belief that Jehovah was God’s (Elyon’s) “first” Son — a tradition that went far back into Israelite history. It not only was known to the ancient prophets, but to the early Christians and even the Gnostics. Eusebius, writing in 320 A.D., notes that Moses “names first the Most High God, the Supreme God of the Universe, and then, as Lord, His Word, Whom we call Lord in the second degree after the God of the universe....” This second Lord (Jehovah) is “One beyond comparison with (the angels), the Head and King of the Universe, I mean to Christ Himself, as being the Only Begotten Son, was handed over that part of humanity denominated Jacob and Israel.” (Proof of the Gospel, IV.9)
“Yahweh the God of Israel,” Barker writes, “was the Son, the Christ. The Word of God, [Eusebius] says called people to worship the Father, ‘Who is Most High, far above all things that are seen, beyond the heaven and the whole begotten essence, calling them quietly and gently, and delivering them to the worship of God Most High alone, the Unbegotten and the Creator of the Universe.’” (IV.9)
Barker says “There was no doubt that Jesus was identified with the God of the Jews. The problem was: Who was this God of the Jews and what was his place in the hierarchy?” Even so, she continues, “The evidence that the first Christians identified Jesus with the God of the Jews is overwhelming; it was their customary way of reading the Old Testament. The appearances of Yahweh or the angel of Yahweh were read as manifestations of the pre-existent Christ. The Son of God was their name for Yahweh.” (Page 192)
According to Philo, Barker says the Logos, or “second God” was “the heavenly high priest. He passed through the temple veil and clothed himself in it as he did so, thus taking material form.” (Page 98) Moreover, in ancient Hebrew theology, Yahweh and its various forms are always associated with salvation. Barker views the Yahweh tradition from its earliest days in light of the angels and sons of God, Yahweh being the first and by far the preeminent of the sons of Elyon.
On the book’s back cover, the synopsis reads: “What did ‘Son of God,’ ‘Messiah,’ and ‘Lord’ mean to the first Christians when they used these words to describe their beliefs about Jesus? In this groundbraking, clearly written book, Margaret Barker goes against protocol and treats these three titles collectively.” It adds: “Barker claims that pre-Christian Judaism was not monotheistic and that the roots of Christian Trinitarian theology lie in pre-Christian Palestinian belief about the angels — a belief derived from the ancient religion of Israel in which there was a High God and several Sons of God. Yahweh was a Son of God, manifested on Earth in human form…. Jesus was a manifestation of Yahweh, acknowledged as Son of God, Messiah, and Lord.” That Jesus was more than an angel and preeminent in the Sons of God, being the Only Begotten, fits squarely with Old Testament scripture in which Yahweh and Elyon were One in Purpose, but separate entities.
Steve Smoot reviewed her book on Amazon.com and reported: “The basic conclusion of Ms. Barker is that the earliest Hebrews, including the patriarchs and fathers of Israel, worshiped Yahweh or Jehovah as Lord of Israel and Elohim as Almighty God the Creator. She contends, correctly in my opinion, that the two were distinct and separate beings, with Yahweh being one of seventy sons of Elohim - who were all godly like Elohim - who ruled over Israel. She also contends, once again correctly, that Jesus was not God Almighty - Elohim - manifest in the flesh, but instead the God Yahweh. She further contends that the history and religion of the Henotheistic Hebrews was whitewashed into a Monotheistic faith by king Josiah around 621 B.C. in order to further distance himself and his people from the Polytheistic Gentiles that were the Babylonians. And that more whitewashing occurred when the Greek Catholic Fathers wished to portray Jesus as God the Father in order to placate the Greek and Roman Christians and make themselves Monotheistic. … Five stars!!!!”
Dr. Barker is a highly praised Methodist scholar (not Mormon, as some have speculated). Her research flies in the face of Jehovah’s Witness belief that Jehovah is God the Father, not Jesus. (Witnesses confuse Jesus with Michael, the archangel, which was a rather bizarre assumption to make in the beginning). Old Testament writers talk about Jehovah being Savior and Judge, while New Testament writers make the same correlations with Jesus. “For the Father judgeth no man,” wrote John, “but has committed all judgment to the Son.”
This groundbreaking research seems to shatter the very basis of JW theology. But will the Witnesses change that theology to remain consistent with the scriptures, or will they stubbornly hold to their present beliefs based on their outdated and limited exegesis of biblical scriptures?