. . . they have been ‘enlightened’. The adverb απαξ suggests that the enlightenment refers to something
singularly definitive, such as the initial conversion-initiation experience (although
not necessarily restricted to this), and the passive voice of φωτιζω indicates that God is the assumed agent of
his illuminative experience (cf. 10;32; Eph 1:18). Thus, this enlightenment is
transcendent in terms of its source and transformative in nature: transcendent,
because it is instigated by God, and no doubt involves the revelation of
heavenly wisdom (cf. 10:26, 32) and transformative, because it refers to a new ‘enlightened’
state, as opposed to a previously abandoned condition of darkness. Although the
experience may have been associated with baptism in some way, in essence it
denotes an extraordinary experience of the divine which imparts some kind of
transcendent knowledge and transforms its recipient. Although the concept of ‘enlightenment’
in antiquity is far too widespread and varied in meaning to locate this
reference in any particular tradition, some contemporary parallels illustrate
this point.
Philo, for example, describes Abraham’s
abandonment of Chaldea and its philosophy and his vision of God as a turning
from deep darkness to see pure light (Abr. 69-79), and describes his own
mystical experience as ‘an enjoyment of light’ (Migr. 34-35; cf. Spec.
3:6). Similarly, the Qumran hymnist writes, ‘I give you thanks Lord, because
you have lightened my face for your covenant . . . Like perfect dawn you have
revealed yourself to me with per[fect] light’ (1QHa XII 5-6). When celebrating
Passover, Jews would praise God for bringing them ‘out from bondage to freedom
from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning to a Festival-day, and from darkness
to great light’ (m. Pesaḥ 10:5). Enlightenment as knowledge is clearly illustrated
in a passage from the Hermetica in which Hermes, having obtained gnosis
from Poimandres, prays to God for power that ‘I may enlighten (φωτιζω) those of my race who are in ignorance’ (Corp.
Herm 1:32; cf. 1:1-4). Similarly, the following appeal was made for a new
member of the Qumran community: ‘may he [God] illuminate your heart with the
discernment of life and grace you with eternal knowledge’ (1Q28 II 3). Of particular
interest is the eschatological expectation reported in the Book of the Watchers,
that ‘[i]n the enlightened man there will be light, and in the wise man, understanding.
And they will transgress no more, nor will they sin all the days of their life’
(1 En. 5:8). Like the enlightened ones of Heb 6:4, the enlightenment comes
from God and is associated with the impartation of heavenly wisdom (cf. 93:10;
Heb 10;26). Moreover, the passage from the Book of the Watchers
associates this enlightenment with the total obliteration of sin in the
eschatological situation (cf. 92:5; 91:17; 1Q28 VI 18-26; Jer 31:33-34; Ezek
36:25-27). This may explain why the author of Hebrews, who believed that the eschaton
had been inaugurated (e.g. Heb 1:2; 9:26), regards the apostasy of enlightened
ones as to incomprehensible and utterly irreversible.
One possible example of the kind of enlightenment
experience envisaged in Hebrews is Saul’s apocalyptic vision on the road to
Damascus. According to Luke, as Saul was approaching Damascus he was suddenly
immersed in glorious light from heaven in which Jesus appeared to him and
revealed the truth to him resulting in his Christian faith and baptism (Acts
9:3-19; 22:6-16; 26:13-19). It is widely agreed that Paul is reflecting upon
his ‘conversion’ experience in 2 Cor 4:4-6, which he seems to regard as somehow
paradigmatic for all Christian experience. Whereas the passages in Acts refer
to an outward manifestation of transcendent light, 2 Cor 4:4-6 emphasizes the
revelatory power of ‘the light’ in the believers’ innermost being. Paul defines
this ‘light’ as ‘the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’
(4:4) and ‘the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (4:6). For
Paul, enlightenment involves understanding the good news, and knowing the Glory
of God, which is embodied in Christ. Like Hebrews, the enlightenment is
transcendent and transformative, but this particular parallel further suggests
the possibility that the enlightenment in Hebrews may have also involved apocalyptic
visions of the risen Jesus, ‘the radiance of the Glory’ (Heb 1:3). (Jody A.
Barnard, The Mysticism of Hebrews: Exploring the Role of Jewish Apocalyptic
Mysticism in the Epistle to the Hebrews [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen
zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 331; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012], 188-90)
