Kovacs's view about what the rulers knew
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:09 am
I find interesting the view given by Kovacs about the real knowledge of the rulers of this age of 1 Cor 2:6-8 and already described by Neil here.
According to Kovacs, the demons knew who Jesus was, only they didn't know the plan of God about the his crucifixion.
(Apocalyptic and the New Testament: Essays in Honor of J. Louis Martyn, edited by Marion L. Soards and Joel Marcus, 217–36. Sheffield, Eng.: JSOT Press. , p. 223)
It is true that this presumed knowledge (by the rulers) of the identity of Jesus is not found in the Ascension of Isaiah, but from the other hand, AoI is not an apocalyptic text so the ignorance of the rulers about the same identity of Jesus seems to be the reflection of the our current ignorance (our= Christians) about the decline of the power of the same rulers. Paul ''saw'' the coming end just as the rulers saw (and recognized really) the ''Lord of the Glory'', while the author of AoI didn't see the coming end just as the rulers didn't see the ''Lord of the Glory''. Failed apocalypticism becomes, velim nolim, gnosticism.
So the chief effect of this view is that the only witnesses of the crucifixion of the Son were only the demons. Only they were aware that they were killing the Son. They, and the Christians like Paul.
According to Kovacs, the demons knew who Jesus was, only they didn't know the plan of God about the his crucifixion.
So here the archons think they will destroy the 'Lord of glory' by causing his death, but instead the reverse happens: by killing Christ they have sealed their own destruction, a destruction alluded to in katargoumenon (v. 6). ... The archons did not know the hidden wisdom of God, his surprising plan to save humanity through a crucified messiah. They could not guess that the real cause of the cross was neither their own will nor that of the human authorities who condemned Jesus but the hidden will of God
(Apocalyptic and the New Testament: Essays in Honor of J. Louis Martyn, edited by Marion L. Soards and Joel Marcus, 217–36. Sheffield, Eng.: JSOT Press. , p. 223)
It is true that this presumed knowledge (by the rulers) of the identity of Jesus is not found in the Ascension of Isaiah, but from the other hand, AoI is not an apocalyptic text so the ignorance of the rulers about the same identity of Jesus seems to be the reflection of the our current ignorance (our= Christians) about the decline of the power of the same rulers. Paul ''saw'' the coming end just as the rulers saw (and recognized really) the ''Lord of the Glory'', while the author of AoI didn't see the coming end just as the rulers didn't see the ''Lord of the Glory''. Failed apocalypticism becomes, velim nolim, gnosticism.
So the chief effect of this view is that the only witnesses of the crucifixion of the Son were only the demons. Only they were aware that they were killing the Son. They, and the Christians like Paul.