Henotheism doesn’t demand a single unrivaled king-god
Henotheism ≠ strict monotheism.
It simply means:
- One god functionally supreme for a given people,
- without denying the reality or legitimacy of other divine beings.
In such systems, supremacy is relational, not metaphysical.
Positions can be shared, delegated, changed, or even reversed.
So henotheism does not require:
- only one ultimate high god,
- a timeless metaphysical singularity,
- or an eternal inability for another being to share the throne.
Instead, it allows:
- multiple high gods above lesser gods,
- shifting hierarchies,
- co-regency,
- voluntary subordination,
- elevation of a divine figure to co-rule.
Second Temple Jewish cosmology fits this flexibility
In the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple literature:
Two (or more) “kings” above the divine council is not impossible:
- YHWH is supreme, but:
- The “second figure” (Word, Wisdom, Son of Man, Angel of YHWH, Principal Angel) often acts with kingly authority,
- sometimes sharing the divine throne or name,
- sometimes ruling on YHWH’s behalf,
- sometimes functioning so closely to YHWH that ancient interpreters blurred them.
This is the root of the “Two Powers in Heaven” tradition — which is not a Christian invention but an earlier Jewish category.
Earliest Christian theology fits henotheistic co-regency
Under your framework:
Jesus = the second throne-holder
Early Christians (Paul, John, the Synoptics, Hebrews, Revelation) portray Jesus as:
- exalted into the divine realm,
- enthroned at the right hand of God,
- ruling over angels and cosmic powers,
- possessing the divine Name,
- exercising judgment normally reserved for God.
The original theology of henotheism did not require only one king-god, but could include two kings above all gods, with one voluntarily subordinate to the other — matching the original gospel belief.
- Two heavenly rulers,
- one greater (the Father),
- one elevated by the greater (the Son),
- both above all other divine beings.
Voluntary subordination is explicitly affirmed
Paul:
- “The head of Christ is God” (1 Cor 11:3)
- “The Son will subject himself to the Father” (1 Cor 15:28)
This is exactly what henotheism allows:
two kings above all gods, one subordinate to the other, yet both functioning as cosmic rulers.
“A great God, a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3)
The Hebrew text says:
- כִּי אֵל גָּדוֹל יְהוָה — “For YHWH is a great God,”
- וּמֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל עַל־כָּל־אֱלֹהִים — “and a great King above all gods.”
Notice that nothing in the grammar requires:
- metaphysical exclusivity,
- absolute monotheism,
- or a denial of shared kingship.
It simply states:
- YHWH is a great God,
- YHWH is a great King,
- and higher than the other gods.
Henotheism allows:
- other gods to exist,
- other gods to be powerful,
- and even more than one “great king” above the rest.
It only insists YHWH outranks them all.
This naturally allows a second enthroned figure
Psalm 110:
“The LORD said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand…’”
Within henotheism:
- YHWH (“the LORD”) is the primary high God.
- “My lord” (אדני / Adoni) is a second royal figure.
- Being seated at the right hand means sharing royal authority, not usurping it.
This does not violate the henotheistic pattern, because that pattern:
- allows multiple high-ranking divine beings,
- allows shared rule,
- allows co-regency,
- and allows one exalted being to rule with and under the supreme one.
Thus:
YHWH = the great King above all gods
The enthroned “lord” = also a great king above all gods, but derivative, subordinate, and exalted by YHWH
Both are “over all gods,”
but one is ontologically primary,
and the other is exalted into that status.
This matches perfectly with Psalm 110, Daniel 7, and earliest Christian interpretation.
This is exactly the earliest Christian configuration
Paul:
- Christ “at the right hand of God”
- Christ reigning “until he puts all enemies under his feet”
- Christ then “subjects himself to God” (1 Cor 15:28)
Hebrews:
- Christ enthroned at God’s right hand
- Angels commanded to worship him
Revelation:
- The throne of God and the throne of the Lamb
- Two thrones, but one shared sovereignty
This is pure binitarian henotheism:
- One God is supreme.
- A second divine king is exalted to rule under and with Him.
It perfectly fits your statement:
The lesser lord can sit at the right hand of the greater God,
and both be great kings above all gods.
[Ed.] Paul and John very strongly condemned (called anathema, antichrist) any preaching of a Jesus different to this, any gospel different to the gospel they had preached.
[Ed.] Now we move forward to the centuries after the time of Paul, John, Peter.
Rabbinic Judaism and later Trinitarianism both collapse this earlier flexibility
Rabbinic Judaism:
- declares “Two Powers in Heaven” a heresy,
- demands a single monotheistic throne.
Nicene Christianity:
- declares the Son co-equal,
- eliminates voluntary subordination,
- rejects two-throne cosmology as ditheistic.
Thus both later systems erase the binitarian henotheism that your model reconstructs.
Conclusion
In the time of apostles of Jesus: Paul, Peter, John, …
- YHWH = the great king above all gods.
- The exalted lord = also a king above all gods, but subordinate and enthroned by YHWH.
- Both rule above the divine council.
It is exactly the cosmology presupposed by the earliest Christian gospel.
Wording by AI, prompted and edited by Stephen D Green
