How a Henotheistic Reading Restores Apostolic Clarity — and How Enoch Confirms It
A henotheistic reading of Scripture does not diminish God’s greatness—it restores the clarity with which the earliest Christians understood Him. Instead of collapsing Father, Son, and Spirit into a metaphysical unity to satisfy post-Temple demands for strict monotheism, henotheism reads the New Testament on its own terms: God is supreme among many spiritual beings, Jesus reigns at His right hand, the Spirit acts as God’s living power, and the heavens are populated with real divine agents.
In this view, the relationship between Father and Son becomes clear and scriptural. Jesus is exalted, enthroned, worshiped—not because He is the Father, nor because the two are abstractly “one substance,” but because God granted Him authority over heaven and earth.The right hand of God is not metaphor; it is position, privilege, and power. This is the “two powers in heaven” worldview present in Revelation, Paul, Hebrews, and the Gospels—two divine figures, united in will and glory, yet distinct in identity. No metaphysical fusion is required. The unity is relational, functional, covenantal.
The Holy Spirit, too, comes into focus. Not merely a force, nor a third identical divine ego, but God’s own breath, agency, and presence—sent, active, intelligent, interceding, teaching, searching “even the deep things of God.” The Spirit is personal, not as a rival deity, but as the way God acts within creation and within believers. Father as source, Son as Messiah-King, Spirit as active power: a living structure that matches Scripture naturally, without philosophical contortions.
This henotheistic framework also gives new coherence to a text many early Christians treasured—the Book of Enoch. Under strict monotheism, Enoch appears strange, excessive, almost embarrassing. Under henotheism, it lights up.
Enoch assumes a populated spiritual cosmos. God is not alone in the heavens; He rules a hierarchy of divine beings—angels, archangels, watchers, holy ones—some faithful, some in rebellion. None rival God’s sovereignty, but all possess real agency and power. This is exactly the world assumed in Paul’s talk of thrones, dominions, and powers, and in Revelation’s depictions of heavenly councils. God’s uniqueness lies not in solitude but supremacy.
Most strikingly, Enoch’s Son of Man matches early Christian understanding of Christ more closely than later Trinitarian models. He is pre-existent, enthroned beside the Most High, receiving worship and authority to judge angels and nations. He is distinct from God, yet glorified by Him. This is not modalism, not confusion, not metaphysical blending—it is relational exaltation, God and His Christ on the throne together, a direct parallel to Philippians 2, Hebrews 1–2, Revelation 5, and 1 Corinthians 15.
Enoch even clarifies the role of the Spirit as divine agency rather than a duplicate deity. The Spirit guides, reveals, speaks, and empowers—just as in Acts, Romans, and John’s Gospel. The pattern holds:
- God is supreme.
- Christ is enthroned beside Him.
- The Spirit accomplishes their will.
- The heavens are alive with other real beings.
This is not polytheism, and it is not the later metaphysical Trinity. It is the worldview of the early church, the worldview of Enoch, Paul, John, and the first believers—a cosmos filled with powers, all subordinate to the Most High and the Lamb.
By AI prompted by Stephen D Green
