The Ascension of Isaiah is an apocryphal text that likely originated in the 2nd century AD. It describes the prophet Isaiah’s visionary ascension through the seven heavens leading up to the highest heaven where he encounters the Lord on His throne. The text provides insight into early Jewish-Christian beliefs about the nature of the heavens, angelic beings, and future events surrounding the coming of the Messiah.
Overview of the Ascension of Isaiah
The Ascension of Isaiah consists of two sections known as the Martyrdom of Isaiah and the Vision of Isaiah that were later joined together. The Martyrdom details the events leading up to Isaiah’s death, while the Vision covers his heavenly ascension.
In the Martyrdom, Isaiah criticizes the corruption of King Manasseh but his prophetic warnings anger the king. Manasseh orders Isaiah to be sawed in two inside a tree. In the Vision, Isaiah recounts his spiritual ascent through the heavens guided by an angel. In the seventh heaven, Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned in glory. The Lord commissions an angel to descend through the heavens to be incarnated on earth as the Beloved One who will be crucified by evil powers. After defeating death, the Beloved One will ascend to receive great glory. This prophetic vision is understood to refer to Jesus Christ.
Origins and Authorship
The text references certain historical figures like Sammael, Beliar, and King Manasseh indicating it was written sometime after their lifetimes in the 2nd century AD. The original language was likely Hebrew or Aramaic but scholars believe Greek translations were made very early on. There are differing scholarly opinions on authorship. Since it is presented as Isaiah’s firsthand account, some take the book at face value crediting Isaiah with writing the Vision section. However, the consensus view recognizes the Martyrdom and Vision were composed pseudonymously much later by unknown Jewish and/or Jewish-Christian authors. Pseudepigraphical works were commonly written under an ancient figure’s name to provide authority and attention to the ideas.
Manuscript History
The full Ascension of Isaiah text was preserved most completely in translations of Ethiopic manuscripts. Fragments also exist in Latin, Coptic, and Slavonic translations. The Ethiopic manuscripts date to the 15th century AD but represent transmission of earlier surviving Greek and Oriental versions. The Latin manuscripts contain just the Vision and date to the 12th-13th centuries AD. The disparate manuscript evidence indicates complicated transmission with parts being added, lost, and redacted over time before the current form emerged.
Basic Outline of the Ascension of Isaiah
– Martyrdom of Isaiah (chapters 1-5): Isaiah confronts King Manasseh over his idolatry, false prophecies, and injustice. Manasseh rejects Isaiah’s pleas to repent. Under Manasseh’s orders, Isaiah is arrested and martyred by being sawn in two.
– Vision of Isaiah (chapters 6-11): Isaiah recounts his spiritual ascent through the heavens guided by an angel. They pass through the firmament and the seven heavens encountering various angelic beings and the righteous dead in paradise. In the seventh heaven, Isaiah stands before the Lord on His throne of glory and is commanded to return to live out his earthly life. Isaiah also receives a vision of the future birth, ministry, death, and ascension of the Beloved One (Jesus).
Notable Sections
– The Martyrdom (chapters 1-5): This opening section is considered one of the earlier portions dating to around the 2nd century AD not long after the lifetime of King Manasseh. It sets up background on Isaiah’s ministry and death to transition into the visionary experience.
– The Descent of the Beloved (chapters 9-11): The prophecy of the Beloved One’s future incarnation, death, and exaltation is a pivotal section with possible Christian interpolations made to an earlier Jewish apocalypse. This section uniquely mixes Isaiah’s own ascent with the Beloved One’s descent and ascent.
– Angels and Heavens (chapters 6-8): Elaborate details are given on the angelic guides and celestial realms encountered during Isaiah’s ascent. This provides fascinating perspective into Second Temple era Jewish cosmology that later influenced mystical thought.
Major Themes
– Cosmology: TheVision presents a detailed tiered conception of the heavens and their inhabitants that was influential in apocalyptic literature and proto-gnosticism. It shows the development of more complex early Jewish cosmologies beyond the basic three-tier biblical view.
– Christology: The account of the Beloved One offers an early mystic vision of the pre-existent Christ incarnating, crucified, and glorified. Scholars debate the section’s date and amount of Christian editing, but it clearly promotes a high Christology.
– Martyrdom: Isaiah suffers death faithfully at King Manasseh’s hands because of his prophetic witness. This motif of the persecuted seer testifying before hostile authorities recurred frequently in later apocalyptic works.
– Revelation: The ascent through the heavens provides supernatural revelation to Isaiah about the reality of the spiritual realms and God’s future plans surrounding the Messiah and the end times. This revelatory template was emulated frequently.
Relation to Canonical Scripture and Other Traditions
The Ascension of Isaiah relies heavily on canonical biblical texts (especially Isaiah and the Gospels) and shares concepts from Second Temple Jewish apocalyptic works like 1 Enoch. The Martyrdom portion expands on the biblical account of Isaiah’s death from Hebrews 11:37. The Vision incorporates and remixes elements from biblical prophets’ heavenly visions like Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Daniel 7. It also appropriates and modifies New Testament assertions about Christ’s nature, crucifixion, and exaltation.
The Ascension of Isaiah also directly influenced later apocalyptic works and mystical perspectives. Other visionary tours through the heavens often borrowed its language and architecture. It contributed to theology on Christ’s incarnation and the Harrowing of Hell. It generated interest in Metatron and corrupted lower world rulers like Sammael and Beliar. Its cosmology fed into both Gnosticism and rabbinic mysticism. Overall, it represents a pivotal transitional text between the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apocalyptic.
Key Figures in the Text
– Isaiah: The central prophetic figure receives revelations while being martyred and during his heavenly ascent. The text presents Isaiah as a proto-Christian seer prophesying the first coming of Christ even centuries prior.
– King Manasseh: The wicked king reintroduced idolatry to Judah and martyred Isaiah. Historically, Manasseh was one of the most condemned Judean kings (2 Kings 21:1-18).
– Beliar: An evil angel prophesied to rule in the world during the end times tribulation period. He is alternatively named as Belial or Satan.
– Sammael: An evil angel of death that inspires lawlessness in the world. He acts as prosecutor on Judgement Day. In rabbinic texts, he is identified as the Angel of Death.
– The Beloved One: The anointed Messiah figure who descends through the heavens to be born, crucified, and resurrected before glorification in the seventh heaven. He is identified Christologically with Jesus.
Interpretations and Commentary
– The text promotes Isaiah as a visionary mystic who experienced the highest heavenly realm and understood divine mysteries surrounding the future Messiah, presenting this revelation as dating back to First Temple era Judaism.
– It assimilates and harmonizes strains of Jewish apocalypticism and mystical ascent with early Christian theology focused on Christ’s incarnation and resurrection.
– Some scholars see polemics against Pauline Christianity in its emphasis on the Beloved One’s ascension over resurrection and minimal discussion of crucifixion compared to later Gospels. Others contest any critique of Paul.
– The Martyrdom portion reproduces Jewish tropes promoting their prophets’ martyrdom under past oppressive rulers and projecting future vindication.
– King Manasseh likely features as the antagonist because of his notorious biblical reputation. Using a villainous king grounded it historically.
– The multi-layered heavens and angels politicize the cosmos with rival allegiances to God, powers over nations, and designated domains. This reflects wider Jewish cosmological speculation during the Second Temple era.
Significance for Theology and Study of the Afterlife
– Offers an early mystical vision of entering God’s presence in the highest heaven, influencing later heavenly ascent narratives.
– Presents the cosmos as enchanted with spiritual realities affecting earthly events, shaping views of spiritual warfare and angels controlling nations.
– Its cosmology and angelology impacted theology on intermediary spiritual realms Jesus traversed in the Harrowing of Hell between the crucifixion and resurrection.
– Provides some of the earliest extra-biblical attestation to beliefs about a pre-existent divine Christ and a tripartite descension-death-ascension redemptive sequence applied to Jesus
– Demonstrates the diversity of Jewish thought during the Second Temple era with different strands interacting and merging.
Enduring Questions and Debates
– Dating the different sections remains challenging with proposals ranging from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD based on evaluating language, theology, historical references.
– The degree of original Jewish versus later Christian material particularly in the Vision/Beloved One section remains contested among scholars.
– Whether the author of the Vision of Isaiah knew Paul’s letters or sought to correct Pauline Christianity continues being debated.
– Academic interpretations often conflict with religious views accepting the account as Isaiah’s authentic vision revealed through divine inspiration without later additions.
– The multiple recensions, translations, and parts warn against overgeneralizing about “the Ascension of Isaiah.” The form, authorship, and theology shifted across time and communities.