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Malina and Pilch on Religious Visions
Malina and Pilch are a couple of Context Group scholars who have written a couple of dozen books between them about the social-historical context of the NT world. We've touched on the concept of the early Christians having visions in a couple of other threads here, so I wanted to quote at length from their Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation.
I think those section's from Malina and Pilch's book are very helpful in understanding what was going on in the early Church in general. It is clear from Paul's letters that spiritual experiences and visions and prophesies were encouraged in his churches. And particularly important to notes is that Paul and these church groups believed they could learn information from such revelations:
As is being discussed in another thread, Paul comments that he learned of the Last Supper from Jesus:
Likewise the accounts in Acts of the early church, make it clear that when the Holy Spirit came upon them all there was a lot of prophesying and a lot of visions.
So in the biblical accounts, both Paul and Acts are clear that throughout the very early church, there was a great deal of activity involving prophesying, visions, interpretations, and a belief that true information could be learned from such activities. (It's also somewhat interesting, I think, how pervasive such activity seemed to be in the early church yet how lacking it generally seems to be in the gospels, but I'm not really sure what to make of that...?)
An important question then is: To what extent was the theology of the early church, and their beliefs about Jesus, and their accounts of his ministry, shaped by their visions and interpretations? Did Paul invent the idea of the Last Supper because it was revealed to him in a vision, and spread it around his churches so much it was later included in the gospels? What else that went into the gospels was learned by these early churches through visions and prophesies and revelations?
Malina and Pilch are a couple of Context Group scholars who have written a couple of dozen books between them about the social-historical context of the NT world. We've touched on the concept of the early Christians having visions in a couple of other threads here, so I wanted to quote at length from their Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation.
Sky Visions (from preface and introduction)
From the period of the Roman Empire alone, the surviving astrological corpus matches in bulk the entire historical corpus... The authors of this commentary take the author of Revelation at his word. If he said he went into the sky, we believe that in his estimation, he went into the sky... The questions, then, are: How did people in antiquity go into the sky? What did they expect to see in the sky? ...The author of Revelation presents himself as John, an astral seer... How does his Israelite background and faith in Jesus undergird his understanding of his sky experiences, sky readings, and sky visions?....
In first-century perspectives, these celestial entities were not only angelic beings but also stars - the same stars visible to us today. For in the period of the New Testament, stars were considered to be personal, living beings.
...Babylonian astronomical/astrological knowledge (the two were identical at the time) spread throughout the Mediterranean world... Due to this new knowledge, this period saw the rise of the local production of astronomical and astrological lore as the Babylonian traditions were appropriated. And so secrets about deities rooted in the new knowledge could now be made known. It would seem that the newly appropriated Babylonian lore greatly stimulated awareness that the deities had very important secrets readily knowable by persons who could read the sky. Those who were adept read the sky to explain either what had happened in the past or what would happen rather soon...
Like other Mediterranean peoples of the period, people of the house of Israel used the newfound lore to learn about their God's activities just as other ethnic groups did (see, for example, the prophets Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel, as well as the authors of The Testament of Shem, The Books of Enoch, The Testament of Solomon...)
The Hellenistic age witnessed the emergence of specially Israelite revelations rooted in sky readings... it was common in the period to read the sky to find out information about the past celestial and social conditions that led to the present social conditions as well as to find out answers concerning what the sky holds in store for kingdom as a whole... and in general when to begin certain activities influenced by the sky... Such activities might include house building, land purchases, and travel. Thus the prophetic Paul claims that his second trip to Jerusalem after his conversion was dictated by revelation (Gal 2:2); he promises the Philippians that God would reveal to them the truth of competing opinions (3:15).
In this book [Revelation], John the prophet follows the path of his learned contemporaries and travels to the sky to read the sky.
From the period of the Roman Empire alone, the surviving astrological corpus matches in bulk the entire historical corpus... The authors of this commentary take the author of Revelation at his word. If he said he went into the sky, we believe that in his estimation, he went into the sky... The questions, then, are: How did people in antiquity go into the sky? What did they expect to see in the sky? ...The author of Revelation presents himself as John, an astral seer... How does his Israelite background and faith in Jesus undergird his understanding of his sky experiences, sky readings, and sky visions?....
In first-century perspectives, these celestial entities were not only angelic beings but also stars - the same stars visible to us today. For in the period of the New Testament, stars were considered to be personal, living beings.
...Babylonian astronomical/astrological knowledge (the two were identical at the time) spread throughout the Mediterranean world... Due to this new knowledge, this period saw the rise of the local production of astronomical and astrological lore as the Babylonian traditions were appropriated. And so secrets about deities rooted in the new knowledge could now be made known. It would seem that the newly appropriated Babylonian lore greatly stimulated awareness that the deities had very important secrets readily knowable by persons who could read the sky. Those who were adept read the sky to explain either what had happened in the past or what would happen rather soon...
Like other Mediterranean peoples of the period, people of the house of Israel used the newfound lore to learn about their God's activities just as other ethnic groups did (see, for example, the prophets Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel, as well as the authors of The Testament of Shem, The Books of Enoch, The Testament of Solomon...)
The Hellenistic age witnessed the emergence of specially Israelite revelations rooted in sky readings... it was common in the period to read the sky to find out information about the past celestial and social conditions that led to the present social conditions as well as to find out answers concerning what the sky holds in store for kingdom as a whole... and in general when to begin certain activities influenced by the sky... Such activities might include house building, land purchases, and travel. Thus the prophetic Paul claims that his second trip to Jerusalem after his conversion was dictated by revelation (Gal 2:2); he promises the Philippians that God would reveal to them the truth of competing opinions (3:15).
In this book [Revelation], John the prophet follows the path of his learned contemporaries and travels to the sky to read the sky.
Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) (from introduction and pg 43f)
John… reports altered states of consciousness (ASC) along with perceptions of alternate reality as he journeys to the sky (4:2), or studies the sky (12:1 ff.) or is transported to some nameless wilderness (17:3), and to an unnamed high mountain (21:10). How are we to assess John’s statements? In social-scientific terms, John’s reports as well as his designation of the outcomes of his experiences as prophecy indicate he was gifted with ASC experiences. ASC experiences are found among 90 percent of the world’s population today, where they are considered normal and natural, even if not available to all individuals. ASC experiences occur in nonordinary psychic states in which duly endowed individuals interact with unseen personages, celestial and terrestrial, for the benefit of their fellows… ASC experiences befall persons who feel themselves endowed with powers to see and hear events in a realm normally not perceptible by humans…
Felicitias Goodman is an anthropologist who has studied persons who have perceived alternate realities like those reported by John the Seer. She observes that it is not difficult to teach individuals how to fall into trance states, but that trance experiences are generally empty unless filled with culturally significant and expected scenarios (1990:17).
What this means is that if John’s experiences are so rich in imagery and action, it is only because he was culturally prepared to have such experiences…
[in] the “trance journeys” she [Goodman] has studied: … The event perceived in the alternate reality is sketched out very hazily. Hence it much be recognized by means of the general cultural story as well as any specific story to appreciate a particular experience….
[In] Sky journeys (often called “soul flight”)… the seer travels through the spirit world. ASC spirit world travelers can travel in the spirit world while both feet are planted on the ground. And so does John. Like other seers, John has a sky servant to help in his journey.
The call to becoming an ASC virtuoso or a prophet like John is not spelled out in [the Book of Revelation]. It was common knowledge in the first-century Mediterranean world. From other experiences of such virtuosos, we do know that it is the spirits who decide who will become a shaman, not the individual. In the Israelite tradition expressed by Paul (for example, 1 Cor 12:6, 10), it is God who endows Jesus-group prophets with their abilities, “inspired by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor 12:11)… The usual sequence of becoming an ASC virtuoso, adapted from Hitchock (1976:169) is:
1. Contact with the spirit (possession/adoption). In Jesus-group perspective, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7).
2. Identification of the possessing/adopting spirit. In Jesus-groups, one must test the spirits (1 Cor 12:3).
3. Acquisition of the necessary ritual skills. Not specified for Jesus-group members.
4. Tutelage by both a spirit and real-life teacher…
5. Growing familiarity with the possessing/adopting spirit.
6. Ongoing ASC experiences.
The Book of Revelation gives clear indication of the last three features…..
Many such ASC trips to the sky involve conversations with sky beings. Yet such conversations took place apart from sky trips. Luke reports conversations with sky servants, held by Zechariah, Mary, and shepherds (Luke 1:11-22; 26-38; 2:9-14). The women going to the empty tomb likewise meet up with a sky servant(s) who gives them information (Mark 16:1-8; Matt 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-10). To meet and converse with a god or some other celestial being is a phenomenon which was simply not very surprising or unheard of in the Greco-Roman period.
Josephus, too, reports something similar as normal among the Pharisees of his experience. He mentions that they were able to predict events, and then goes on to describe an instance…“…for they were believed to have foreknowledge of things through God’s appearances to them – that by God’s decree Herod’s throne would be taken from him…”
A typical feature of this type of ASC experience was the claim that the outcome of the experience was a book “dictated” by the god or some other sky being in the course of the encounter… Thus Ezekiel (2:8-3:3) is told to eat the book which a divine hand gave him and which would be reproduced in his preaching (as though his stomach worked like a VCR or tape recorder). Likewise the author of our book is told to write (1:11, 19). The basic idea is the same. The words pronounced or written by the prophet are divine words; the wisdom he teaches has been revealed to him.
In sum, what this all means is that John is well educated in contemporary prophetic and star lore as well as in his Israelite culture’s traditional scriptural accounts. He knows how to interpret his experiences. His report of this interpretation of the sky and its personages during his sky journeys is his prophecy, astral prophecy.
John… reports altered states of consciousness (ASC) along with perceptions of alternate reality as he journeys to the sky (4:2), or studies the sky (12:1 ff.) or is transported to some nameless wilderness (17:3), and to an unnamed high mountain (21:10). How are we to assess John’s statements? In social-scientific terms, John’s reports as well as his designation of the outcomes of his experiences as prophecy indicate he was gifted with ASC experiences. ASC experiences are found among 90 percent of the world’s population today, where they are considered normal and natural, even if not available to all individuals. ASC experiences occur in nonordinary psychic states in which duly endowed individuals interact with unseen personages, celestial and terrestrial, for the benefit of their fellows… ASC experiences befall persons who feel themselves endowed with powers to see and hear events in a realm normally not perceptible by humans…
Felicitias Goodman is an anthropologist who has studied persons who have perceived alternate realities like those reported by John the Seer. She observes that it is not difficult to teach individuals how to fall into trance states, but that trance experiences are generally empty unless filled with culturally significant and expected scenarios (1990:17).
What this means is that if John’s experiences are so rich in imagery and action, it is only because he was culturally prepared to have such experiences…
[in] the “trance journeys” she [Goodman] has studied: … The event perceived in the alternate reality is sketched out very hazily. Hence it much be recognized by means of the general cultural story as well as any specific story to appreciate a particular experience….
[In] Sky journeys (often called “soul flight”)… the seer travels through the spirit world. ASC spirit world travelers can travel in the spirit world while both feet are planted on the ground. And so does John. Like other seers, John has a sky servant to help in his journey.
The call to becoming an ASC virtuoso or a prophet like John is not spelled out in [the Book of Revelation]. It was common knowledge in the first-century Mediterranean world. From other experiences of such virtuosos, we do know that it is the spirits who decide who will become a shaman, not the individual. In the Israelite tradition expressed by Paul (for example, 1 Cor 12:6, 10), it is God who endows Jesus-group prophets with their abilities, “inspired by one and the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor 12:11)… The usual sequence of becoming an ASC virtuoso, adapted from Hitchock (1976:169) is:
1. Contact with the spirit (possession/adoption). In Jesus-group perspective, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7).
2. Identification of the possessing/adopting spirit. In Jesus-groups, one must test the spirits (1 Cor 12:3).
3. Acquisition of the necessary ritual skills. Not specified for Jesus-group members.
4. Tutelage by both a spirit and real-life teacher…
5. Growing familiarity with the possessing/adopting spirit.
6. Ongoing ASC experiences.
The Book of Revelation gives clear indication of the last three features…..
Many such ASC trips to the sky involve conversations with sky beings. Yet such conversations took place apart from sky trips. Luke reports conversations with sky servants, held by Zechariah, Mary, and shepherds (Luke 1:11-22; 26-38; 2:9-14). The women going to the empty tomb likewise meet up with a sky servant(s) who gives them information (Mark 16:1-8; Matt 28:1-8; Luke 24:1-10). To meet and converse with a god or some other celestial being is a phenomenon which was simply not very surprising or unheard of in the Greco-Roman period.
Josephus, too, reports something similar as normal among the Pharisees of his experience. He mentions that they were able to predict events, and then goes on to describe an instance…“…for they were believed to have foreknowledge of things through God’s appearances to them – that by God’s decree Herod’s throne would be taken from him…”
A typical feature of this type of ASC experience was the claim that the outcome of the experience was a book “dictated” by the god or some other sky being in the course of the encounter… Thus Ezekiel (2:8-3:3) is told to eat the book which a divine hand gave him and which would be reproduced in his preaching (as though his stomach worked like a VCR or tape recorder). Likewise the author of our book is told to write (1:11, 19). The basic idea is the same. The words pronounced or written by the prophet are divine words; the wisdom he teaches has been revealed to him.
In sum, what this all means is that John is well educated in contemporary prophetic and star lore as well as in his Israelite culture’s traditional scriptural accounts. He knows how to interpret his experiences. His report of this interpretation of the sky and its personages during his sky journeys is his prophecy, astral prophecy.
I think those section's from Malina and Pilch's book are very helpful in understanding what was going on in the early Church in general. It is clear from Paul's letters that spiritual experiences and visions and prophesies were encouraged in his churches. And particularly important to notes is that Paul and these church groups believed they could learn information from such revelations:
1 Cor 14:26-40
When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret... Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged...
Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues
When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret... Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged...
Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues
As is being discussed in another thread, Paul comments that he learned of the Last Supper from Jesus:
1 Cor 11:23-35
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Likewise the accounts in Acts of the early church, make it clear that when the Holy Spirit came upon them all there was a lot of prophesying and a lot of visions.
So in the biblical accounts, both Paul and Acts are clear that throughout the very early church, there was a great deal of activity involving prophesying, visions, interpretations, and a belief that true information could be learned from such activities. (It's also somewhat interesting, I think, how pervasive such activity seemed to be in the early church yet how lacking it generally seems to be in the gospels, but I'm not really sure what to make of that...?)
An important question then is: To what extent was the theology of the early church, and their beliefs about Jesus, and their accounts of his ministry, shaped by their visions and interpretations? Did Paul invent the idea of the Last Supper because it was revealed to him in a vision, and spread it around his churches so much it was later included in the gospels? What else that went into the gospels was learned by these early churches through visions and prophesies and revelations?
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