Description

In what ways did developing attitudes toward angelic figures in early Jewish circles contribute to christological thought in Early Christianity? Given a recently revived interest in mediator figures from Greco-Roman antiquity, the author explores this question by focusing on the interrelated issues of angel veneration and monotheistic belief.
The study is primarily based on traditio-historical analyses of New Testament texts (Galatians 3-4; Colossians 2; Hebrews 1-2; Revelation) and of early Jewish and Jewish-Christian epigraphic, apocalyptic, and merkabah-related materials.
The author argues that those who either assert or deny the existence of 'angel worship'in Early Judaism are often predisposed by a theological concern to establish a continuity or discontinuity between the worship of Christ by Christians and their religious-historical environment.