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62-779: After the theophany on Biblical Mount Sinai , in the Tabernacle , and afterwards in the Temple in Jerusalem , only two altars are mentioned: the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Altar of Incense. The first altar was the Altar of Burnt Offering ( mizbeach ha'olah ; Exodus 30:28 ), also called the Brasen Altar ( Exodus 39:39 ), the Outer Altar ( mizbeach hachitzona ), the Earthen Altar ( mizbeach adamah ),

124-432: A taboo (here meaning something which is seen as sacred but simultaneously prohibited). The other sin offerings are considered by scholars to be gradual developments; from being offered after contact with unclean animals, which is more of a taboo, to being offered for ritual uncleanliness in general, and finally to being offered for arbitrary sins. The gradations, according to which the type of sacrificial animal depends on

186-555: A "forceful, theophanic voice" calling them to undertake reforms. These letters were published in a compilation entitled Summons of the Lord of Hosts in 2002. The JBS article described Bahá’u’lláh's "Theophanology" as "progressivist". He claimed "spiritual Authority" in these letters in which he warned western leaders of the dangers facing humanity should they choose to not act on His Guidance. Human religious lore includes ancient literary recordings of deities appearing to animals. Usually,

248-512: A "horn" on each corner, a border of gold around the top, and rings on opposite sides through which poles could be passed to carry it ( Exodus 37:25–26 ). The poles were made of shittim wood covered with gold. Moses consecrated the altar with the anointing oil when the Tabernacle was dedicated ( Exodus 40:9 ). Incense was burned daily on this altar at the time of the morning and the evening sacrifices. The coals used on this altar had to be taken from

310-686: A Theology without a Theophany is both dry and difficult to defend. We want an avatar, i.e. a 'descent' of God in human form". A 1991 article in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies (JBS), described "Bahá’í theophanology" as "acceptance of the Prophet, or 'Manifestation of God,' who speaks on behalf of God." The author explained that Bahá’u’lláh wrote a series of epistles in the 1860s to kings and rulers, including Pope Pius IX , Napoleon III , Tsar Alexander II of Russia , Queen Victoria , and Naser al-Din Shah Qajar , in

372-541: A bull and a goat and purifying the Holy of Holies with their blood, would mix the blood of the two animals together. Then, starting at the northeast corner, he smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden Altar. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar. In Solomon's temple the altar was similar in size, but was made of cedar-wood ( 1 Kings 6:20 ; 7:48 ) overlaid with gold. In Ezekiel 41:22 it

434-402: A deity' ) is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form. It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itself in a visible form. Traditionally, the term "theophany" was used to refer to appearances of the gods in ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While

496-524: A development where the flesh from sin offerings was seen as insufficiently holy and thus needing to be disposed of elsewhere. In the Book of Hosea , a reference to the earlier form (Hosea 4:7-8) suggests a possible reason for the change - the priests were accused of rejoicing in the people's wickedness as they were living off the sin offerings . Although known as sin offerings , it is more likely that such offerings began as offerings made for unintentionally breaking

558-466: A holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of meeting", a point repeated at Leviticus 7:7, whereas Leviticus 6:29 allows that "all the males among the priests may eat it", suggesting that the proceeds of sin offerings could be shared within the kohanic community. The sharing of grain offerings within the kohanic community was more clearly endorsed by Leviticus 7:10 - "Every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all

620-406: A sin, for atonement": it can also stand for purification offering. The high priest was instructed to "...lay his hand upon the head of the purification offering [ rosh ha-ḥatat רֹאשׁ הַֽחַטָּאת], and the purification offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering" (Leviticus 4:29). To avoid confusion, the more explanatory term korban ḥatat ("a sacrifice of sin"; Hebrew: קרבן חטאת)

682-470: Is a sacrificial offering described and commanded in the Torah (Lev. 4.1-35); it could be fine flour or a proper animal. A sin offering also occurs in 2 Chronicles 29:21 where seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats were sacrificed on the command of King Hezekiah for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. Like all types of sacrifices offered on the altar , the flour had to be unscented and

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744-524: Is called "the altar of wood." (Comp. Exodus 30:1–6 ) In the temple rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity , the Golden Altar was restored. Antiochus Epiphanes took it away, but it was afterwards restored by Judas Maccabeus (1 Maccabees 1:23; 4:49). In the Gospel of Luke , it was at this altar that Zechariah ministered when Gabriel appeared to him ( Luke 1:11 ). Among the trophies carried away by Titus after

806-617: Is found in rabbinical commentaries. Chapters 4.1-5.13 of the Book of Leviticus presents the first of three speeches of God to Moses that outlines laws concerning the "ḥata't" or purification offering. Besides other types of offerings, it appears in the 24th (weekly) parsha Vayikra , a section of the Torah in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh ( Jewish Bible ) A sin offering also occurs in 2 Chronicles 29:21 where seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats were sacrificed on

868-616: Is the Mi'raj , the Prophet's ascent into Heaven. He speaks to the Holy Spirit (Gabriel), sometimes called "a night journey from Mecca through Jerusalem." Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts, he proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah . al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important figure in

930-520: The Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity , the first description appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh . In Greek religion, there are a few instances of theophany. In historic times, theophanies were rare, but divine or heroic epiphanies were experienced either through dreams or waking visions. Theophanies were reenacted at a number of Greek sites and festivals. At Delphi ,

992-457: The Druze faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018. The Baháʼí Faith believes that God is manifest in the prophets . The "Manifestation of God" is a concept that refers to prophets like Zoroaster , Gautama Buddha , Abraham , Moses , Jesus , Muhammad , the Báb , and Baháʼu'lláh . The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect

1054-734: The First Book of Nephi and concluded that the Theophanies in the Bible and the Book of Mormon have much in common. And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a Vision, even that he saw the Heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his Throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God. And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of

1116-472: The New Testament . Adaptions to his hypothesis in current evangelical research and intercollegiate debate describe these manifestations as the post-incarnate Christ (yet to be published), as though in being a divine human capable of time travel He could foretell his later incarnation as having already lived it. The term Christophany has also been coined to identify post-incarnate appearances of Christ in both

1178-480: The Priestly Blessing upon the people. Whenever certain sin-offerings were brought, the coals from the incense that was lit that morning were pushed aside and the blood of the "inner sin-offering" was sprinkled seven times on the top of the Golden Altar ( Leviticus 4:5–7 ). Once a year, on Yom Kippur , the Altar of Incense was purified ( Exodus 30:10 , Leviticus 16:18–19 ). The High Priest , after sacrificing

1240-655: The Temple Mount , "until there should come a prophet to tell what to do with them." ( 1 Maccabees 4:41–47 ). During Herod the Great 's extensive building activity on the Temple Mount, it was likely refurbished. Talmudic scholars give a very precise description of the altar during the Second Temple period. The altar was built as a perfect square and was quite large: it reached a height of 10 cubits (app. 5 meters) and its width

1302-561: The Theophania (Θεοφάνια) was an annual festival in spring celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter quarters in Hyperborea . The culmination of the festival was a display of an image of the gods, usually hidden in the sanctuary , to worshippers. The most well-known theophany is in the Bhagavad Gita , one chapter of the larger epic of Mahabharata . On the battlefield of Kurukshetra,

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1364-524: The anointing oil seven times ( Leviticus 8:10–11 ), and purified it by anointing its four horns with the blood of a bullock offered as a sin-offering , "and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it" ( 8:14–15 ). The Kohathites were the Levites who were responsible for moving and setting up the altar. When it was time for the Israelites to move, they removed

1426-622: The destruction of Jerusalem , and depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome, the Altar of Incense is not depicted, though the menorah, silver trumpets (the hasoserah mentioned in Numbers 10:2–10 ), the mortar and pestle used for preparing the incense, and possibly the Table of Showbread are. It should be mentioned that there are other offerings involving incense, such as the meat offerings , but these were consumed on

1488-495: The priestly source , thought by scholars to be one of the source texts of the Torah; the priestly code within the priestly source is believed to be a series of additions to the text, from Aaronid editors, over a long period. The earlier source is thought to be the one referring to the flesh being consumed by the priests, the latter part of Leviticus 6 falls into this source, while the later source, which Leviticus 4 falls within, reflects

1550-520: The Altar of Burnt Offering by erecting a pagan altar upon it. The First Book of Maccabees recounts how Judas Maccabeus renewed the altar when he re-took Jerusalem. Since the existing altar had been defiled by the blood of pagan sacrifices the old stones of the altar were removed and replaced with new, unhewn ones. However, since the old stones had been previously sanctified by the Jewish sacrifices they could not be moved to an unclean place; so they remained on

1612-578: The Altar of Burnt Offering, not on the Altar of Incense. On the day of Yom Kippur only, the High Priest would offer incense in the Holy of Holies. The remains of three rock-hewn altars were discovered in the Land of Israel: one below Tel Zorah , another at the foot of Sebastia (ancient Samaria), and a third one near Shiloh . Theophany Theophany ( Ancient Greek : θεοφάνεια , romanized :  theopháneia , lit.   'appearance of

1674-482: The Altar of Burnt Offerings. The incense used had to be made according to a specific formula ( Exodus 30:34–35 ), and no other incense was permitted ( Exodus 30:9 ). According to Jewish tradition, the incense was made by the Avtinas family , who closely guarded its secret. The offering of incense also had to be seasoned with salt. The offering of incense was the apex of the daily morning and the evening services. According to

1736-561: The Biblical passages led Christian scholars to understand Theophany as an unambiguous Manifestation of God to man. Otherwise, the more general term hierophany is used. Some modern evangelical Christian Bible commentators, such as Ron Rhodes, interpret "the angel of the Lord", who appears in several places throughout the Old Testament, to be the pre-incarnate Christ , which is Jesus before his manifestation into human form, as described in

1798-728: The Great Altar ( mizbeach hagedola ) and the Table of the Lord ( Malachi 1:7 ). This was the outdoor altar and stood in the Court of the Priests, between the Temple and the Court of Israel, and upon which the korbanot (animal and bird sacrifices) were offered. The blood of the sacrifices would be thrown against the base of the altar ( Exodus 29:12 ; Leviticus 4:18 ), and portions of the sacrifices would be burned on top of it (precisely which portions would depend upon

1860-556: The Greek noun hamartia does not have the double meaning of the noun ḥatat in Hebrew. Chapter 4 of the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament of Christian biblical canons provides Moses ' instructions from God regarding the purification offering and chapter 15 of the Book of Numbers partially repeats them. The sacrificial animal required for a sin offering depended on the status of

1922-469: The Hebrew term for "sin" ( ḥatat ) is sometimes directly translated as "sin" - either by the Greek feminine noun hamartia ("sin" ἁμαρτία), or less commonly by the neuter noun hamartemata ("result of sin," "sinful thing" ἁμάρτημα) thereby duplicating the metonymy in the Hebrew text. More often the Greek paraphrases the Hebrew with expressions such as "that which is for sin" ( peri hamartias περὶ ἁμαρτίας) or "for sins" ( hyper hamartion ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν) - since

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1984-733: The Inner Altar ( מִזְבַּ֣ח פְּנִימִי mizbaḥ pnimi ). This was the indoor altar and stood in front of the Holy of Holies . "Place it in front of the curtain that is over the Ark of the Pact —in front of the cover that is over the Pact—where I will meet with you." The altar was constructed of shittim wood ( Vachellia and Faidherbia species) and covered in pure gold. It was an upright rectangular stand, measuring one cubit wide, one cubit deep, and two cubits high, with

2046-607: The Old and New Testaments. 1 Peter 4 (v.6) allows for the interpretation that on the Son's Father-Spirit (as the third member of the trinity fulfilling the unity of various persons as Christ is crowned King of Kings) and being conferred from the cross with the words, "Eloi, Eloi! Lama Sabachtani", was thereby born or separated as the timeless Word (or angel) of God (John 1 and 5) with the character and memory of Christ, even giving permission for creation "Let there be.." ( Genesis 1 ) . This also has been

2108-527: The Rabbis, this was the part of the temple service that was most beloved by God ( Zohar I 130:A). The burning of the incense was symbolic of the prayer of the people rising up to God ( Psalm 141:2 ; Revelation 5:8 ; 8:3–4 ). The offering of incense had to take place after the sacrifice, because only after the atonement could communion with God take place. After the offering of incense, the Kohenim (priests) pronounced

2170-543: The altar. Then he would change his clothing and remove the ashes to a clean place outside the camp ( Leviticus 6:10–11 , Cf, 1:16 ). In Exodus 27:3 the various utensils used with the altar are enumerated. They were made of brass. (Comp. 1 Samuel 2:13–14 ; Leviticus 16:12 ; Numbers 16:6–7 ). The altar could not be carved using utensils made of iron or of bronze ( Exodus 20:25 ), nor were any allowed on or near it, because iron and bronze were used for implements of war. The Altar and its utensils were considered to be sacred, and

2232-521: The animal (in later rabbinical interpretation as one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts ) was later consumed by the Kohen and his family, except when the priest himself was the offerer (such as in community offerings, and in the case of the Day of Atonement), when it would be burnt at a ritually clean location outside the Temple sanctuary. Leviticus 6:26 stipulates that "the priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In

2294-529: The animal had to be completely unblemished. This offered sacrifice accompanied the important required core means of atonement for the committing of an unintentional transgression of a prohibition, that either has brought guilt upon the 'community of Israel' or the individual. This offering is brought during or after atonement for those transgressions that had been committed inadvertently, or in ignorance: intentional transgressions could only be absolved by other forms of atonement , or in severe cases kareth . It

2356-483: The animal. In the case of community offerings the elders performed this function, in the case of Yom Kippur, the high priest performed this task. The animal would then be slaughtered by a Shochet ("ritual butcher"), the blood carefully collected by the Kohen ("priest") in an earthen vessel and sprayed/thrown on the two outer corners of the Mizbeach ("altar"), while the fat , liver , kidneys , and caul , were burnt on

2418-416: The animals relay the experience to humans using human speech: More recently, science fiction author Philip K. Dick reportedly had a Theophany on 3 February 1974, which would become the basis for his semi- biographic works VALIS (1981) and Radio Free Albemuth (1985). In 1977, Michel Potay testified he witnessed five Theophanies. He published the text he says he received from God in "The Book",

2480-418: The ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth over it, placed all of the instruments and vessels used in the sacrifices on it, covered it with a blanket of badger skin, and put the carrying poles in place ( Numbers 4:13–14 ). After the rebellion of Korah , the bronze censers that were used by the rebels were converted by Eleazar into broad plates used to cover the altar, as a warning that only priests of

2542-520: The attributes of the divine in the human world, for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization. In the 1914 publication titled The Reconciliation of Races and Religions , Thomas Kelly Cheyne , FBA (1841–1915), an ordained minister in the Church of England and Oxford University scholar, described Theophany within the context of the Baháʼí Faith . Cheyne wrote, "...one feels that

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2604-469: The command of King Hezekiah for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah. The end of the 37th weekly Torah portion Shlach Lecha (Num. 15.22-31) again, deals with sacrifices for inadvertent violations: they are applicable for all laws, apply to both Israelites and alien residents, but exclude expiation of defiant, willful violations of ritual law (cf. Kareth ). In the Greek Old Testament ,

2666-507: The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. In Jewish tradition, the upper part of the altar was made with a standard cubit of 6 handbreadths ( טפחים ‎), while the lower base of the altar, or tier, was made with a standard cubit of 5 handbreadths. The second altar was the Altar of Incense ( מִקְטַ֣ר miqṭar ) ( Exodus 30:1–10 ), also called the Golden Altar ( מִזְבַּ֣ח הַזָּהָ֔ב mizbaḥ hazzāhāv ) ( 39:38 ; Numbers 4:11 ) and

2728-411: The end of the epic, the god Yama takes the form of a dog to test the compassion of Yudhishthira . Even though Yudhishthira is told he may not enter paradise with such an animal, he refuses to abandon his companion, earning him praise from Dharma. The Torah contains many instances of theophany between Yahweh , the Hebrew god, and the human characters in the stories. Some examples of this are seen in

2790-459: The god Krishna gives the famed warrior Arjuna a series of teachings. Arjuna begs for Krishna to reveal his "universal form." Krishna complies and gives Arjuna the spiritual vision, enabling him to see Krishna in the universal form. A number of other theophanies are described in the Mahabharata . First, the god Indra 's appearance to Kunti , with the subsequent birth of the hero Arjuna. Near

2852-459: The midst of Heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read. The most important theophany in Islam

2914-497: The priests had to vest and wash their hands before touching them—even so much as removing the ashes from the altar. According to the Bible, the fire on the altar was lit directly by the hand of God and was not permitted to go out ( Leviticus 6:12–13 ). No strange fire could be placed upon the altar. The burnt offerings would remain on the altar throughout the night before they could be removed ( Leviticus 6:9 ). The first altar of this type

2976-412: The roof of the altar. On Yom Kippur —the Day of Atonement—some of the blood would be sprinkled in front of the veil covering the entrance to the Holy of Holies when the blood would be sprinkled in front of the mercy seat ; this was done seven times. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar, and the earthen vessel that had contained it would be smashed. The remaining flesh of

3038-654: The second part of The Revelation of Ares . There are a large number of modern cases which have been rendered into print, film, and otherwise conveyed to broad publics. Some cases have become popular books and media, including: These instances are distinguished from cases in which divine encounters are explicitly considered fictional by the author, a frequent motif in speculative fiction such as in Julian May 's Galactic Milieu Series . Sin-offering A sin offering ( Hebrew : קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת , korban ḥatat , IPA: [χaˈtat] , lit: "purification offering" )

3100-455: The seed of Aaron may offer incense before the Lord ( Numbers 16:36–40 ). The description of the altar in Solomon's Temple gives it larger dimensions ( 2 Chronicles 4:1 . Comp. 1 Kings 8:22 , 8:64 ; 9:25 ), and was made wholly of brass, covering a structure of stone or earth. Because this altar was larger than the one used in the wilderness, it had a ramp leading up to it. A ramp was used because

3162-410: The sinner offering the sacrifice; Like all types of sacrifices offered on the altar , the animal had to be completely unblemished. Apart from such general offerings for an unintended sin, these offerings were made: The ritual of the purification offering began with the offerer confessing his/her unintentional transgression while placing his/her hands and pushing his/her full weight over the head of

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3224-420: The sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other". When the sacrificial animal was a bird, the ritual was quite different. The bird was slaughtered by a thumb being pushed into its neck, and the head being wrung off. A second bird would then be burnt on the altar as a whole sacrifice , completely immolated by fire. According to 19th century textual scholars , these rules originate from two different layers in

3286-606: The stories of the burning bush , in Genesis 18, the pillars of clouds and fire , Mount Sinai , Isaiah and Ezekiel , and David .   Christians generally recognize the same Old Testament theophanies as the Jews. In addition, there are at least two theophanies mentioned in the New Testament . While some usages refer to the baptisms of Jesus and John the Baptist as "theophanies", scholars discourage such usage. Traditional analysis of

3348-476: The traditional interpretation of the earliest Church Fathers as well as the apostle Paul himself, who identifies the rock that was with Moses in the desert, and the speaking burning bush, as being Christ. For a more thorough list of "God Sightings", or Theophanies, see the examples above under " Judaism, Hebrew Bible ." Joseph Smith , the prophet and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement , said that when he

3410-400: The type of sacrifice). Also consumed at the altar would be some of the meat offerings , and the drink offerings ( libations of wine) were poured out here. All sacrifices had to be "seasoned with salt" ( Leviticus 2:13 , Numbers 18:19 ). A priest officiating at a burnt offering would vest in his priestly vestments before approaching the altar. He would remove the ashes and place them beside

3472-439: The use of steps to approach the altar was forbidden by the Torah : "Do not climb up to My altar with steps, so that your nakedness not be revealed on it" ( Exodus 20:26 ). On the day of the consecration of the new temple, Solomon also sanctified a space in the center of the Court of the Priests for burnt offerings, because the brasen altar he made was not large enough to hold all of the offerings ( 2 Chronicles 7:7 ). This altar

3534-587: Was 14 years old he was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees near his house, a Theophany in answer to his spoken prayer. This " First Vision " is considered to be the founding event of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Book of Mormon describes other hierophanies and Theophanies that occurred in the new world . For example, Blake Ostler analysed the Throne-Theophany of Lehi in

3596-405: Was 32 cubits (app. 16 meters). It was constructed of two main parts: the altar itself, and the ascent ramp. Both were constructed of stones and earth. On top of the altar at its four corners, there were hollow boxes which made small protrusions or "horns." These horns measured one cubit square and 5 handbreadths high, each (or, app. 18" x 18" x 15"). In this form, the altar remained in its place until

3658-423: Was distinct from the biblical guilt offering . The Hebrew noun ḥatat ("sin") comes from the verb ḥata (חָטָא) basically meaning "to miss the mark, to err". The first use is in the sentence "(..) Sin couches at the door; Its urge is toward you, Yet you can be its master" to Cain in Genesis 4:7. The noun ḥatat can mean "sin," or also by metonymy in phrases such as "the bullock ... it is sin," or "a bullock for

3720-504: Was made to be moved with the Children of Israel as they wandered through the wilderness. Its construction is described in Exodus 27:1–8 . It was square, 5 cubits in length and in breadth, and 3 cubits in height. It was made of shittim wood , and was overlaid with brass. In each of its four corners projections, called "horns" ( keranot ), rose up. The altar was hollow, except for a mesh grate which

3782-418: Was placed inside halfway down, on which the wood sat for the burning of the sacrifices. The area under the grate was filled with earth. There were rings set on two opposite sides of the altar, through which poles could be placed for carrying it. These poles were also made of shittim wood and covered with brass. When Moses consecrated the Tabernacle in the wilderness, he sprinkled the Altar of Burnt Offering with

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3844-534: Was said to be renewed by Asa ( 2 Chronicles 15:8 ) and removed by Ahaz ( 2 Kings 16:14 ), and "cleansed" by Hezekiah , in the latter part of whose reign it was rebuilt. It was finally broken up and carried away by the Babylonians in 586 BCE ( Jeremiah 52:17 ). After their return from the Babylonian captivity according to the biblical narrative it was re-erected ( Ezra 3:3–6 ) where it had formerly stood. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes pillaged Jerusalem , he defiled

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