Temple Mysticism: An Introduction

by Margaret Barker

Publisher:

SPCK

, 2011

Overview

According to Margaret Barker’s groundbreaking theory, temple mysticism underpins much of the Bible. Rooted in the cult of the first temple in ancient Judaism, temple mysticism helps us understand the origins of Christianity. It was generally received and taught as oral tradition, and many texts were changed, suppressed, or kept from public access. Barker first examines the biblical texts of Isaiah—the prophet whom Jesus quoted more than any other—and John. Then she proposes a more detailed picture of temple mysticism, drawing on a wide variety of non-biblical texts. The resulting book presents some remarkable results.

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Key Features

• Develops an innovative theory of temple mysticism
• Offers a new perspective on early Christianity and first-century Judaism
• Examines extrabiblical texts for details on temple mysticism and the early church

Contents

• Introduction
• The Sources
• The One
• The Many
• The Throne
• The Servant
• Postscript

Top Highlights

“it was normal temple thinking to represent the Lord as one angel or several” (Page 66)

“but Jesus too thought of himself as plurally present in his followers” (Page 68)

“The temple mystics were messengers from heaven to earth; their vision was not just a private ecstasy, but always a call to be the bearer of revelation.” (Page 5)

“Heaven for the first Christians was the holy of holies where the throne of God was surrounded by a crystal sea” (Page 48)

“a heavenly being. ‘In this way it is possible for the Gnostic [the one who knows] already to have become” (Page 38)

Product Details

• Title: Temple Mysticism: An Introduction
• Author: Margaret Barker
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 192

About Margaret Barker

Margaret Barker (born 1944), a Methodist preacher, studied theology at the University of Cambridge, after which she has devoted her life to research in ancient Christianity. She has developed an approach to Biblical studies known as Temple Theology. She was president of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1998, and in July 2008 she was awarded a DD by the Archbishop of Canterbury.