Moses 1
- stephenstrent7
- Jan 3
- 3 min read
Where Science Meets the Old Testament, for the Come Follow Me lesson January 5-11; Moses 1
Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” That’s it, no introduction, no preparatory statement even as to who might be writing those words. By contrast, Moses 2:1 states, “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.” Here is a very different first verse. It is very much in line with John 1:1-3, which states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
But wait, there’s more. There is an entire other chapter in Moses, which is the introduction to the Bible: Moses 1. We are told in Moses 1:1, “The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain…” There is a very strange verse in the book of Jude, in the New Testament, which states, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”1 That verse is sort of put out of left field into the letter Jude, the brother of James, wrote to “them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called”.2
When did Michael contend with Satan over Moses? The Pulpit Commentary, as quoted at Bible Hub, states, “…there seems to be nothing resembling Jude’s statement either in apocryphal books like that of Enoch or in the rabbinical literature, not to speak of the canonical Scriptures…The matter, nevertheless, is introduced by Jude as one with which his readers would be familiar. Whence, then, comes the story?...it appears…in so early a writer as Origen, viz. that it is a quotation from an old apocryphal writing on the Ascent or Assumption of Moses…This is the most probable explanation…”
The “apocryphal…Ascent or Assumption of Moses”? Apocryphal means a biblical writing not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture. The canon was first provided in 367 AD, by Athanasius, the uninspired Bishop of Alexandria, using the word “canonized” to describe his list. After the council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where Athanasius’ predecessor, Alexander, who introduced the abominable Trinity; the Roman Emperor Constantine, who wasn’t even a Christian, commissioned a list to be compiled of accepted Christian Scriptures that would be displayed in churches. Forty-two years later, Athanasius provided the first known list of that “canon”.3 “Ascent” suggests going up somewhere, like up a mountain, and “assumption” comes from a Latin word assumpcio, meaning “to take up”.
Therefore, when Moses 1:1 states, “…when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain…” is literally the “Ascent or Assumption of Moses”.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. Jude 1:9
2. Jude 1:1
3. Lindberg, Carter (2006), A Brief History of Christianity, Blackwell, 2006, p. 15
Isn't it noteworthy that Moses 2:1 clarifies John 1:1 by saying that Heavenly Father (Elohim) created the earth through his Only Begotten Son (Jehovah), whereas John 1:1 has more of a trinitarian flavor when standing alone?
You're insertion of the discussion of Jude 1:9 seems "put out of left field." Were you having the impression that the dispute between Michael and the devil was related to the ascent of Moses? And also that the "catching up" of Moses "into a high mountain" in Moses 1:1 is related to the apocryphal Assumption of Moses? Now I'm anxious to read the Assumption! Thanks!!