John Dee And The Prophets

An excerpt from, “John Dee’s Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature” by Deborah E. Harkness, Cambridge University Press, 1999, Pg. 144 – 148:

Despite excellent reasons for the “Reformation of tyme,” Elizabeth I and her council rejected Dee’s calendar, and Dee grieved that “her Matie will not reforme it in the best terms of Veritie.” The angels encouraged him to turn from Elizabeth I and her court, and to focus on other potential patrons in Europe who would be more receptive to his reformatory aims. Dee’s angel conversations were poised between apocalypse and eschatology, and their delicately balanced position had far-reaching consequences for his reception in the courts of Europe. By 1582 Dee was moving away from the interpretation of eschatological signs and toward a deeper and more dangerous role in the unfolding of the final days: the role of a prophet proclaiming revealed wisdom.

Dee’s faith in his angelic protectors gave him the confidence to record and voice their divine revelations, which made him unlike other eschatologists in Protestant countries during the sixteenth century. While many Protestants claimed to speak to God through prayer – a foundation of Reformation theology – few received messages in return through multitudes of angels. Intermediaries, both saints and angels, were a feature of Catholic theology, and Protestant theologians tried valiantly, if vainly, to dissuade their congregations from relying on “popish” intercessors like priests or inhabitants of the celestial spheres. In fact, not many Protestants in the sixteenth century claimed to have heard God speak to them in any fashion, direct or otherwise: although claims of direct revelatory experience became widespread in the seventeenth century, Protestants had not yet embraced this possibility in Dee’s lifetime. Instead, sixteenth-century Protestants relied on interpreting ancient biblical revelations and prophecies, and deploring the prophecies of contemporary Catholic mystics.

The Catholic church proved equally reluctant to endorse those who claimed to have received direct revelations. Though some mystics were tolerated and even supported, most of these were in holy orders, like Saint Teresa of Avila or Saint Iohn of the Cross, and firmly enmeshed in the institutional hierarchies of the church. Ecclesiastical authorities were experienced in handling wayward and outspoken clerics like Joachim of Fiore and Savonarola: they launched inquisitorial proceedings against them and often preferred to execute them for heresy rather than to support their revelatory claims. Dee was obviously not in holy orders, and his marital state, as the Catholic authorities in Prague pointed out, made him an unlikely candidate for receiving revelations.

The content of the angels’ revelations to Dee must Catholic authorities in their specificity and unabashed criticism of sixteenth-century life, religion, and government. While other eschatologists talked vaguely about great astrological occurrences and their posible ramifications, Dee claimed to know, with divine certainty, the precise month and year in which miraculous events would occur. Nor did the angels limit themselves to religious matters such as the details of the Second Coming, the end of the world, and the establishment of the new Jerusalem. In remarks that would have been treasonable in most countries, the angels shared prophecies about the death of Queen Mary of Scotland; several invasions soon to face England; the deaths of Philip II, Rudolf II, and Elizabeth I; and the ascension of Dee’s patrons Albert Laski, Stephen of Poland, and Count Willem Rozmberk to greater positions of power. Political prophecies had the potential to set off popular revolts, and even the most daring eschatological commentators knew better than to include clear predictions of their own sovereign’s demise – though predications about the death of rival monarchs were often ignored. Dee should have known better from personal experience than to mix predictions with matters of state, as he had once been imprisoned for casting Queen Mary of England’s horoscope.

In the final days, Dee’s role was to be increasingly prophetic. The angel Uriel explained: “The Lord hath chosen you to be Witnesses, through his mercy and sufferance … in. the offices and dignities of the Prophets .. . wherein you do exceed the Temples of the earth: wherein you are become separated from the world. . . .” Dee’s prophetic role went hand-in-hand with his increased powers to see and judge the decay of the Book of Nature. The angels encouraged him to verbalize and publicize his insights outside the tight circle of the colloquia, and scolded him when they thought he should have made “a more ample declaration” of their remarks. The angels dictated that Kelly, though also touched with the powers of prophecy, should limit himself to seeing visions in the showstone rather than sharing his visions with a wider audience – a wise course given Kelly’s volatility. While the angels promised to make Kelly “a great Seer: Such an one as shall judge the circle of things in nature,” they also told him that “heavenly understanding, and spiritual knowledge shall be sealed up from thee in this world.”

Dee embarked upon his potentially dangerous prophetic activity because he believed himself heir to the prophetic biblical tradition of Enoch, Elias, Esdras, and John the Divine. The mention of these prophets in Dee’s angel conversations gave his revelations a greater sense of authority and the prophecies concerning the final days a greater urgency. Each prophet enjoyed privileged communication with God or angels that resulted in a certain knowledge of the world as it was, or the world as it was to be after God’s last judgment. Each prophet had served as a “divine scribe,” obediently recording the information received from God and the angels in books of wisdom. Though Esdras and John were important models for Dee, he found Elias and Enoch more fascinating. His interest in these two mysterious prophets was shared by other contemporary natural philosophers, including Guillaume Postel and Paracelsus.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Enoch’s important position was based on a few lines in Genesis and Ecclesiasticus that related how Enoch “walked with God” and then “was no more, for God took him” (Genesis 5:2I-24; Ecclesiasticus 44:16). Texts attributed to Enoch circulated in the early Christian centuries before disappearing. Even with the loss of these precious texts, Christian commentators were quick to expand upon the references to Enoch, thereby bolstering his profile. The angels shared their knowledge of Enoch with Dee, information which happily corresponded to early modern perceptions of the prophet. To Dee, the greatest knowledge that Enoch possessed was his special, post-lapsarian ability to read the Book of Nature. Enoch’s eyes, according to the angels, were opened by the Lord so “that he might see and judge the earth, which was unknown unto his Parents, by reason of their fall. In addition, Enoch was shown “the use of the earth” and was “full of the spirit of wisdom.” As Dee longed for mastery over the Book of Nature, it is not surprising that he was eager to discuss Enoch with the angels. Enoch’s mysterious departure from the earth was equally intriguing. Most of Dee’s contemporaries believed that God took the prophet to Paradise or heaven, where he lived free from sin in full knowledge of God. Since such communion with divinity was thought to occur only after death, Enoch’s acceptance into God’s grace more extraordinary.

According to scripture, Enoch was joined in Paradise by another figure prominent in the angel conversations: the prophet Elias (also known as Eliiah), whose story was told in Kings I7-19. Elias, like Enoch, was transported to heaven prior to death. He was especially revered in the Jewish tradition, because references in Malachi 4:5-6 suggested that Elias would return from heaven before the Final Judgment to bring the Israelites to repentance. Elias’s association with the final days also meant that his return was one of the eagerly awaited signs that the eschaton was near. His imminent return was confrmed by the angels, who told Dee that soon the “Prophets of the Lord shall descend from Heaven.” Dee connected this remark to Elias immediately, noting in the margins of his angel diaries that the prophets were “in Paradise, they were carried upward, especially Elias.”

Elias was an important figure in works concerned with the occult sciences as well as early modern eschatologies. Paracelsus (1493?-154I), the alchemical physician whose works appeared frequently in Dee’s library, referred to Elias in his writings. Paracelsus drew on biblical ideas and commentaries to create Elias artista, who would return to the world and reveal occult aspects of the Book of Nature. Paracelsus linked the figure of Elias artista to his belief in a utopian future for the world that would restore both the Book of Nature and humanity. Before utopia could be achieved, however, Elias artista must return so that, through him, God could “reveal much that is strange, much that has not yet been uncovered and revealed to us, things of which we are all ignorant.” Paracelsus’s fascination with Elias artista‘s knowledge secret helped to ensure that alchemists and occultists kept the tradition of Elias alive. 

Wikipedia: 

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship of the Hebrew deity Yahweh over that of the Canaanite deity Baal. God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and ascending to heaven alive. He is also portrayed as leading a school of prophets known as “the sons of the prophets”. Following Elijah’s ascension, his disciple and devoted assistant Elisha took over as leader of this school. The Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah’s return “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD”, making him a harbinger of the Messiah and of the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in Sirach, the New Testament, the Mishnah and Talmud, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, and Baháʼí writings. Scholars generally agree that a historical figure named Elijah existed in ancient Israel, though the biblical accounts of his life are considered more legendary and theologically reflective than historically accurate.

. . .No background for the person of Elijah is given except for his brief characterization as a Tishbite. His name in Hebrew means “My God is Jah”, and may be a title applied to him because of his challenge to worship of Baal.

. . .Elijah is mentioned four more times in the New Testament: in Luke, Romans, Hebrews, and James. In Luke 4:24–27, Jesus uses Elijah as an example of rejected prophets. Jesus says, “No prophet is accepted in his own country”, and then mentions Elijah, saying that there were many widows in Israel, but Elijah was sent to one in Phoenicia. In Romans 11:1–6, Paul cites Elijah as an example of God’s never forsaking his people (the Israelites). Hebrews 11:35 (“Women received their dead raised to life again…”) refers to both Elijah raising the son of the widow of Zarephath and Elisha raising the son of the woman of Shunem, citing both Elijah and Elisha as Old Testament examples of faith. In James 5:16–18, James says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”, and then cites Elijah’s prayers which started and ended the famine in Israel as examples.

. . .Elijah has been venerated as the patron saint of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 26 August 1752, replacing George of Lydda at the request of Bishop Pavao Dragičević. The reasons for the replacement are unclear, but a theory is that Elijah is an important figure for all three of the country’s main religious groups—Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox Christians. Pope Benedict XIV is said to have approved Bishop Dragičević’s request with the remark that a wild nation deserved a wild patron.

. . .Starting in the fifth century, Elias is often connected with Helios, the Sun. The two words have very similar pronunciations in Postclassical Greek; Elijah rode in his chariot of fire to heaven just as Helios drove the chariot of the sun across the sky; and the holocaust sacrifice offered by Elijah and burned by fire from heaven corresponds to the sun warming the earth.

Sedulius writes poetically in the fifth century that the “bright path to glittering heaven” suits Elias both “in merits and name”, as changing one letter makes his name “Helios”; but he does not identify the two. A homily entitled De ascensione Heliae, misattributed to Chrysostom, claims that poets and painters use the ascension of Elijah as a model for their depictions of the sun, and says that “Elijah is really Helios”. Saint Patrick appears to conflate Helios and Elias. In modern times, much Greek folklore also connects Elias with the sun.

. . .The Jewish nation awaits the coming of Elijah to precede the coming of the Messiah.

For Christians, this prophecy was fulfilled in the gospel. After Elijah appears during the Transfiguration alongside Moses, Jesus explains to his disciples that John the Baptist, recently beheaded by Herod Antipas, 

had fulfilled Elijah’s return. Commentators have said that Moses’ appearance represented the law, while Elijah’s appearance represented the prophets. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that Elijah returned on 3 April 1836 in an appearance to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, fulfilling the prophecy in Malachi.

The Baháʼí Faith believes Elijah returned as the biblical prophet John the Baptist and as the Báb who founded the Bábí Faith in 1844. Druze, like Baháʼí Faith believes, believe that Elijah came back as John the Baptist.

The American founded Nation of Islam believes Elijah returned as Elijah Muhammad, black separatist religious leader (who claimed to be a “messenger”, not a prophet). This is considered less important than their belief that Allah himself showed up in the person of Fard Muhammad, the founder of the group. It differs notably from most beliefs about Elijah, in that his re-appearance is usually the precursor to a greater one’s appearance, rather than an afterthought.