Monday, April 17, 2023

Ignatius of Antioch Claiming to be inspired to God in To the Philadelphians 7

  

PHILAD. 7:1-2

 

When writing to the church at Philadelphia shortly after having paid that congregation a visit, Ignatius recalls:

 

Revelation Formula: I cried out [ekraugasa] while I was with you,
I spoke with a great voice [megalē phōnē],
with the voice of God [theou phōnē]

 

Admonition: “to the bishop give heed,
and to the presbytery,
and to the deacons.”

 

The short oracular utterance is immediately followed by another prophetic saying, or rather a string of sayings:

 

Narrative: But some suspected that I said these things because I already knew of the division caused by certain people.

 

Oath and Revelation Formulas: But he is my witness [martys] in whom I am bound
that I learned nothing from any human being,
but the Spirit was proclaiming [ekēryssen] by speaking
in this manner [tade]

 

Admonitions: “Apart from the bishop do nothing”;
“Guard your flesh at the temple of God”;
“Love unity”;
“Flee divisions”;
“Be imitators of Jesus Christ as he was of the Father!”

 

Ignatius clearly regards these exhortations as prophetic utterances directly inspired by God and/or the Spirit. The setting in which these oracles were uttered was that of a service of worship. The first oracle caused the Philadelphians to suspect Ignatius of having gained some previous knowledge of the situation in Philadelphia, a charge which he vehemently denied through the use of an oath formula. It is precisely the Spirit from God, claims Ignatius, who “exposes secrets” (ta krypta elenchei, Philad 8:1). Here prophecy functions in a way very similar to 1 Cor. 14;25, where Paul focuses on the fact that prophecy discloses the secrets of men’s hearts. (David E. Aune, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983], 291-92, emphasis in bold added)