Do My Prophets No Harm

Revelation and Religious Liberty in the Bible

Robert Kimball Shinkoskey

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9781608998456
  9781498258029
• eBook ISBN:
  9781630876166
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

A foundational law promoting worship of the God of the Exodus (the Decalogue's First Commandment) has little meaning without a government policy permitting such worship. Robert Kimball Shinkoskey discusses policies in the Bible which enact freedom of religion for prophets and other dissidents who work to restore worship of the God of their ancestors. In the process, he challenges the theological idea of the cessation of prophecy. New revelation from God is necessary to rescue ancient Israel from backsliding and restore her to a place of security and tranquility in a Mediterranean world gone mad with imperial war-making.

1

Giving God a Contract Extension

It is an article of faith in the major denominations of the Judaic and Christian traditions, or at least an unwritten one, that God no longer appears to man. God clearly revealed himself in olden times and gave special commission to prophets to speak in his behalf. For example, God revealed himself to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah and the literary prophets of Israel. He later revealed himself in and through Jesus and the Apostles.

But God has not shown himself or given a spectacular new oracle to mankind at any place or time, in the Jewish view, since the last exilic and post-exilic prophets like Haggai and Zechariah, Malachi and Joel, or authorized an addition to the canon since the Book of Daniel, last modified in the second century BCE. For example, the Talmud reads, “The Spirit departed from Israel.”1 The “shekinah,” or presence of God, which dwelled in the temple, departed as well.2 There seemed to be practical justification for the idea of the absconding of God, because the temple housing God’s presence was destroyed in 586 BCE. Horrific prophecies of national destruction were fulfilled in the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests of Israel and Judah, leading to a sense that God had abandoned Israel.

In addition, the Torah, or Pentateuch, was published in its final form in the time of Ezra in the late fifth century.3 In this collection Moses was lionized in such a way as to cast doubt about the stature of subsequent prophets. The scope and depth of the law organized in its pages begged the question of whether there was need for any further divine commandment leading to salvation. For many, Moses and Torah made the prophetic function obsolete. Some justification for the idea of closure seems to be expressed in Deuteronomy: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” (Deut 4:2; see also Eccl 3:14; Sir 42:21)

On the other hand, God has not shown himself or given a spectacular new oracle to mankind at any place or time, in the Christian view, since the revelation to Jesus and the Apostles. The book of Revelation itself, positioned as the last chapter of the New Testament, warns, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book . . . ” (Rev 22:18) In the early medieval Christian church it was a common view, succinctly stated by Pope Stephen I, that: “Nothing is to be introduced except that which has [already] been received.”4 Such pronouncements had the effect of discouraging not only any dissident interpretations of Christian scripture, but also examination and acceptance of any new prophetic literature. Today the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church reminds us that the prophetic era ended with Christ: “The Son is his Father’s definitive word; so there will be no further Revelation after him.”5

To underscore the shutting up of the heavens against any further speech from God, the Judaic tradition and the Christian tradition each, at separate times, officially designated the canons of their sacred literatures. After the textual traditions had been fixed slowly over time, the Jews placed a final, or near-final, exclamation point on their canon at Jamnia in 90 CE6, and the Christians on theirs at Hippo in 393 CE and Carthage in 397 CE.7 When the Christian tradition began to publish its own sacred literature in the first century CE, the mainstream Jewish tradition found no use for any of the new Christian literature. And when the Islamic tradition produced its own sacred literature around 650 CE8, both the Judaic and Christian traditions declined to include any part of it in their own.

Only one type of oracular event is anticipated by caretakers of the ancient Judaic and Christian scriptures. Elements of both traditions cherish the notion of the return of a well known figure of the past, often seen as Elijah for the Jews, and clearly understood to be Jesus for the Christians. Jews, alternatively, look for a messianic king not previously known before, but in the lineage of David. Thus the prophetic enterprise is still open, but only to a figure coming at the absolute end of ordinary history. Until that time, both Jewish and Christian faiths assert that God’s Spirit is available still on a secondary level, a level superintended by rabbis, priests, ministers, and individual believers.

Rabbinic literature speaks of “bat qol,” or “daughter of the voice,” which replaces “ruah elohim” or “Spirit of God.”9 Christians speak of “gifts of the spirit,” which occupy a place of lower priority than the dormant or completed gift of the apostolic witness. (1 Cor 12:28) In the meanwhile, Jews and Christians live, for better or worse, in a kind of ongoing messenger-less world. From time to time Protestants lay claim to the idea of a return of inspiration10, and the Roman Catholic popes have, since 1870, reclaimed the idea that some of their messages are divinely revealed.11 Both traditions are comfortable with the idea that continuous revelation exists in the sense that the old scripture continues to reveal God’s will to new individuals who read and grasp it.

The cessation of prophecy, if not always official policy in the churches, is a culturally enforced pattern of thinking for Jews and Christians despite numerous indications to the contrary in the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament. In both accounts, God is depicted as being by nature verbal and oracular. The very definition of faith is that of belief in a living and vocal God: “Our God shall come and shall not keep silence.” (Ps 50:3) Joel, for example, predicts ongoing outpourings of Spirit: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh . . . in those days will I pour out my Spirit.” (Joel 2:28–29) Other prophets speak of the “pouring out” of the Spirit as well. (Isa 32:15; Ezek 39:29) Peter suggests at least one fulfillment of that prediction in his own day: “We also have a more sure word of prophecy.” (2 Pet 1:19)

The idea of prohibition of additions to or deletions from the scripture is an argument without much substance as well. Entire books were periodically added or deleted in the scripture in the periods of time before the final closing of those canons. This includes those books ultimately labeled lesser inspired “apochrypha,” as well as controversial books like Ezekiel and Revelation which eventually were given permanent inclusion. Also, scholars believe several books were added to the New Testament after the date of the writing of the book of Revelation.12 The prohibition of additions may be aimed by its authors more at minimizing interpretive modification (letting the original text stand as it was written), and maintaining fidelity to the foundational law. In this sense, it reflects customary admonitions of the same sort found in royal inscriptions, treaties, and law compilations of the ancient Near East.13

Each successive prophet in the 400-year long series of Old Testament literary prophets (roughly 840–440 BCE) effectively added to the scripture upon acceptance of the new work by the major traditions. Also, compilers of the Old Testament history sections added to and subtracted from earlier accounts when they published their own versions of things. Thus did the author of Chronicles, perhaps 150–200 years after the book of Kings had been penned. Each of the serially produced reminiscences of the New Testament disciples effectively added to the scripture upon its acceptance by the Christian traditions. For example, the works by Matthew and Luke came some decades after Mark and after the early source known as “Q” were written.

Some have argued that after a canon-making process is complete, it makes little sense to change it since the canon resulted from a high level of consensus and thus should be left alone.14 To this we reply that such consensus turns out not to have been very widespread, and also that both the Hebrew Bible and Christian Testament were “finalized” numerous times over a very long period of time. Apparently, “final” is a term that applies only to a particular political situation at a particular moment in time. It is generally agreed that the Hebrew Bible, for example, was compiled in three phases. The law, or Torah, was given at Sinai roughly in 1,200 BCE, but was modified numerous times after that and not compiled into roughly final form until the time of Ezra in the late fifth century. Even then, the doctors of the Jewish law continued to tinker with its meaning for centuries. The literature of the prophets was not finalized until sometime after Joel and Malachi, who lived around 450–400 BCE. Lastly, the “Writings,” such as Psalms, wisdom books like Proverbs, and historical reminiscences like Chronicles and Daniel were collected later and then officially added to the first two. The Christian testament was apparently not finalized even at the time of the great early councils in the fourth century CE, since a large segment of the Christian population deleted a number of books from the Bible of the Catholic Church more than a thousand years later at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

The God of the Bible clearly plans for and carries out an on-going series of authentic, high-level conversations with man. God is, from a time even before Moses and a time well after him, a communicative God, one who intends that his words be told or read to others by means of language, varied though that may be (Gen 11:1,7–9), in the same way it was first told or read to the messenger. (John 15:26–27)

God’s message and literature is intended to be powerful and of lasting importance, written into stone as it were. (Deut 10:1–5; Josh 24:27) In a sense it is to be like the words of a covenant, never to be broken. But that literature and covenant are no more debarred from addition, modification, or renewal than is God’s power to negotiate it or man’s tendency to need rescue from new predicaments of history. In fact, God made covenants by revelation with new prophets and new peoples numerous times during Bible days, including: Adam and Eve (Gen 2: 16–17, 3:2–3); Noah (Gen 9:1–17); Abraham (Gen 15:6–11, 17:7–8); Moses (Exod 2:24, 3:4–10, 19:3–8), David (1 Chr 11:3; Ps 78:67–72; 2 Sam 7; Ps 89), and Jesus. (John 13:34, 14:31, 15:10) In each case he delivered a new message to a new prophet to underscore the importance of a new or renovated way of life.

Not only does God reveal himself to prophets at important times and various places throughout the story of early mankind, but he expresses his assurance that the phenomenon will not abate. Amos, for example, delivered God’s promise that the Holy Spirit would not die (Amos 3:7), and Jesus promised the same as well. (John 14:26)

It is pertinent here to point out that the idea of God’s continuing presence and revelation among mankind is supported by the very nature of religion and cult organization itself. Cult (church/synagogue/mosque) is an organized method of seeking contact with God.15 One Hebrew word for prayer, “amad,” means “to be in front of God.” That is, the very object and purpose of prayer is to have an actual encounter with God. Another Hebrew word for prayer, “hithpallel,” has a root meaning “to ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Giving God a Contract Extension
• Chapter 2: Prophets Promote Prophecy
• Chapter 3: Universal Voice and Endless Canon
• Chapter 4: Cessation of Prophecy
• Chapter 5: A Thoroughly Modern Law was Found in the Mound
• Chapter 6: Jerusalem’s Gang of Twelve
• Chapter 7: A Theology of Continuing Revelation
• Epilogue
• Bibliography