The Jewish Trinity: How the Old Testament Reveals the Christian Godhead by Dr. Michael Heiser

[[UPDATE: see also my blog dedicated to defending the doctrine of the Trinity: Trinity Notes]]


At one his websites (Two Powers in Heaven) Dr. Michael Heiser continues to argue rabbinical scholar Alan Segal's claim (nearly 30 years ago) that up until the 2nd century C.E., it was permissible in Judaism to believe in the concept of there being "two powers" in heaven without being heretical or pagan or polytheistic. It was a sort of Jewish Binitarianism. In the video lectures, Dr. Heiser makes his BIBICAL case. Then using ancient Jewish Binitarianism he bridges the gap from (strict/monistic) Monotheism to Trinitarianism.

The late Alan Segal's book is titled, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism. Though Segal regarded the "two powers" view as heretical, he adamantly argued that as a matter of historical fact that many Jews did believe such a doctrine in times past and that it was considered permissible back then.

The Jewish Trinity

 http://youtu.be/Hz8J4DTIkEg

(3 1/2 hour lecture)

video is from www.twopowersinheaven.com/materials.html

More Videos with Michael Heiser:

Holy Trinity - Dr. Michael Heiser
http://youtu.be/P9tFm7qKrgk

Michael S Heiser - The Trinity
http://youtu.be/3yeKhMnfOTE

Michael Heiser - Two Powers of the Godhead - May 4, 2013
http://youtu.be/CUkhWBKCuXc

Dr. Michael Heiser - Is the Trinity found in the Old Testament?
http://youtu.be/bNF-vFBVtig

The Jewish Trinity
PART ONE;     PART TWO;     PART THREE;     PART FOUR

Jesus and the Old Testament
http://youtu.be/1jarTP3pl5k

The Belief in Jesus as God before Nicea and the Exalted Christ of Gnosticism P5/8
http://youtu.be/z7Ry_uEMG-k

What Really Happened at Nicea? P6/8 - Dr. Michael Heiser
http://youtu.be/SWlAJ0KMrFQ

The Trinity- Michael Heiser
http://youtu.be/WK-GLnNF_-g

Jesus Christ and the Old Testament: Jesus Christ as Co-Creator
http://youtu.be/BComTeFErQ4

Jesus in the Old Testament
https://youtu.be/Fdw7cn-euow

Jewish Trinity : The Second Power
http://youtu.be/LPQSaeuLTDI

Holy Trinity (Lecture 2)
http://youtu.be/_43nXfq7d38

Jewish Trinity - John 10 and Psalms 82
http://youtu.be/YsQLYBUmDV4

Jewish Trinity: Jewish Godhead
http://youtu.be/dFsEgQCQQ9w

Holy Trinity
http://youtu.be/wMdxqoEsg0k

Council of Nicea
http://youtu.be/tncKvhByPus

The Divine Council and Jewish Binitarianism
Part ONE
Part TWO
Part THREE
Part FOUR
Part FIVE
Part SIX
Part SEVEN
Part EIGHT



See also his paper: “Monotheism, Polytheism, Monolatry, or Henotheism? Toward an Honest (and Orthodox) Assessment of Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible” by Dr. Michael Heiser

Christian and Jewish Messianic Believer in Jesus, Dr. Michael L. Brown, wrote

Interestingly, Dr. Benjamin Sommer, a professor in Bible and ancient Near Eastern languages at the Jewish Theological Seminary (that’s right, the Jewish Theological Seminary), came to similar conclusions in his recent book, The Bodies of God. He wrote: “Some Jews regard Christianity’s claim to be a monotheistic religion with grave suspicion, both because of the doctrine of the trinity (how can three equal one?) and because of Christianity’s core belief that God took bodily form. . . . No Jew sensitive to Judaism’s own classical sources, however, can fault the theological model Christianity employs when it avows belief in a God who has an earthly body as well as a Holy Spirit and a heavenly manifestation, for that model, we have seen, is a perfectly Jewish one. A religion whose scripture contains the fluidity traditions [referring to God appearing in bodily form in the Tanakh], whose teachings emphasize the multiplicity of the shekhinah, and whose thinkers speak of the sephirot does not differ in its theological essentials from a religion that adores the triune God.”

So, it appears that there are Jewish scholars who do not believe in Yeshua who can see what my dear friend Rabbi Blumenthal cannot. Let’s continue to pray for Rabbi Blumenthal!

In a book review of Dr. Sommer's book The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel 
someone named J. Todd Hibbard, (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga) acknowledges that Dr. Sommer believes the Christian conception of the Trinity is not incompatible with various traditions within Judaism. It doesn't matter if Hibbard is a Christian or not. I quote him only to further corroborate Dr. Brown's interpretation of Dr. Sommer.

The final chapter finds Sommer donning his theologian hat in order to answer the question, “What do the Hebrew Bible's fluidity traditions teach a modern religious Jew?” (p. 126). After noting that the antifluidity traditions in P and D dominate the final form of the Hebrew Bible, he notes that fluidity traditions found elsewhere (notably in JE) are still present. He briefly explores the development of these traditions in the postbiblical rabbinic literature, the kabbalah and early Christianity. With respect to the latter, Sommer insists that core Christian assertions—the trinity and incarnation—are not theologically impermissible within the world of Judaism, but rather are faithful to the fluidity model of divinity found in ancient Israel. For modern Jews, Sommer demonstrates how biblical notions of fluidity and antifluidity pose challenges for both liberal and conservative Jews, though not in the same way. He concludes by insisting that, contrary to customary positions, it is the fluidity model that offers the strongest statement of monotheism consistent with the personhood of God.

In another book review, Esther J Hamori says the following:

In chapter 6, Sommer traces the fluidity model into later Judaism and Christianity. He points to the continuation of these concepts—the fluidity of the divine self and multiplicity of embodiment, the rejection of these notions, and various implications for sacred space—in rabbinic literature and kabbalah, addressing what this all might mean for those reading the Hebrew Bible as scripture today. He then frames the concept of incarnation in the New Testament in terms of the fluidity model and discusses the impact this has had on later Christianity. It is fascinating to see some of this unfold, for instance, as he traces the ways in which Protestantism and Catholicism prioritize different  voices among the fluidity and antifluidity traditions. One of his laudable goals here is to demonstrate ways in which much of Christian theology is not so foreign to Judaism. He concludes, “No Jew sensitive to Judaism’s own classical sources, however, can fault the theological model Christianity employs when it avows belief in a God who has an earthly body as well as a Holy Spirit and a heavenly manifestation, for that model, we have seen, is a perfectly Jewish one. A religion whose scriptures contains the fluidity traditions, whose teachings emphasize the multiplicity of the shekhinah, and whose thinkers speak of the sephirot does not differ in its theological essentials from a religion that adores a triune God” (135). The similarities of the Christian concept of the simultaneous presence of God in heaven and God on earth to the older fluidity model are striking, and it will be fruitful to consider Christian theology in light of this. At the same time, there are also important differences between these types of embodiment, and at a certain point the similarity may be a bit overdrawn. Sommer’s view does not take into account the difference between theophany and incarnation, between temporary manifestation and full human identity and life, as claimed in Christian theology. Perhaps more significantly, while the concept of the Trinity may be seen to reflect the multiplicity of embodiment as in the older fluidity traditions, it does not seem particularly fluid. Finally, Sommer concludes that this fluidity in Judaism and Christianity allows God both immanence and transcendence, and that it shows that the divine is not bound to any one place. (Or, as I have argued in regard to some biblical texts, even the embodiment of God demonstrates divine freedom, rather than limitation.)

Resources in Defense of Trinitarianism
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/06/resources-in-defense-of-trinitarianism.html 

Trinity Notes blog
http://trinitynotes.blogspot.com/

Michael Heiser on the Divine Council

See also:

The Great Mystery; or, How Can Three Be One?

by Christian William Henry Pauli

Pauli's book documents that the concept of the Trinity (or something similar) was percolating in Jewish speculative theology before, during and (for some time) after the beginning of the Christian era.