After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Judaism underwent a profound transformation. Rabbinic authorities solidified a strict monotheism that excluded henotheistic ideas, such as multiple divine beings or semi-divine intermediaries. Early Christians were largely Jewish or closely connected to Jewish communities and faced a delicate balancing act: they needed to preserve their Jewish identity while proclaiming Jesus as Messiah. This context placed them in a challenging position, navigating between fidelity to their heritage and the radical claims of the gospel.
Rabbinic insistence on absolute monotheism created strong cultural and religious pressures. Publicly affirming multiple divine agents—even in a subordinate sense—could be seen as heresy or apostasy, while maintaining a henotheistic worldview risked alienation or expulsion from the broader Jewish community. In response, Christian leaders appear to have reinterpreted Jesus and the Holy Spirit to align with rabbinic strict monotheism. Angels and other spiritual beings were subordinated, and the unity of God was emphasized. These changes were likely influenced as much by pragmatic concerns for social and religious survival as by theological reflection, reflecting a strategic adaptation to the realities of their environment.
By prioritizing conformity to rabbinic monotheism, Christians may have shifted the gospel’s focus from its original henotheistic-apocalyptic framework to a more philosophical strict monotheism. In practical terms, the original gospel portrayed Jesus as Lord and Messiah engaged in a cosmic struggle among spiritual powers, with YHWH supreme within a hierarchy of divine beings. In contrast, the post-apostolic reformulation presented Jesus as fully divine within a singular God, angels as strictly subordinate, and the broader spiritual hierarchy minimized. This suggests that fear of rabbinic disapproval or social pressure may have influenced doctrinal evolution as much as, or more than, purely theological concerns.
Historically, Christians were reacting to real pressures, and this shift can be understood as a pragmatic adaptation to preserve their community and teachings. Theologically, however, one could argue that such changes compromised the original henotheistic structure of the gospel, even if core messianic claims were preserved. In other words, subverting henotheism may have been a survival tactic, but it reframed the gospel in ways that the apostles themselves might have regarded as anathema.
It is therefore plausible that early Christians, in following rabbinic models out of fear, adopted strict monotheism. This approach may have protected the social status of their teachings, but it also altered the gospel’s theological framing, moving away from the henotheistic worldview of Jesus and Paul. Apostles such as Paul and John might have condemned these changes had they occurred in their time, suggesting a profound tension between the original apostolic vision and the post-apostolic developments that shaped mainstream Christian theology.
Stephen D Green with AI wording
