The Origin and Significance of the Angelomorphic Christology in the Ascension of Isaiah

The conclusion of the Ascension of Isaiah, 11.32–3, a carefully staged scenario, is determinative for the exegesis of the entire text. It picks up the notion of Christ’s journey to the right hand of God from first-century Christology and embellishes it with a formal description of pre-existence, commission, and descent which the authors composed in the light of Jewish apocalypticism. They introduced the disguised descent and Trinitarian vision, setting these within the context of the seven-storied cosmology. The Beloved One’s subordination to the Most High determines the way in which all other beings in the cosmos are described. This explains the strong emphasis on hierarchy in the text. The description of the disguised descent derives from the Jewish angelological pattern held in common with the Apocalypse of Abraham. The result is a unique synthesis which elucidates one of the ways in which first-century Christianity explained its beliefs about Jesus and should inform future discussion of christological origins. Source-critical work still needs to address the present form of the Ascen. Isa. and the relationship of its different elements, including the possibility of historical change and development.