The visible manifestation or appearance of God to man is called as Theophany. The Bible describes the theophanies of God as an ‘Angel of the Lord’ and in Christ as the incarnate Son.
1. Theophany of God
The Bible says that God is so great that man cannot see God face to face and live (John 1:18; Judg. 13:22). Hence the Bible does not describe people seeing God; but records incidents where there was an appearance of God in the following places.
At Sinai: The seventy elders and Moses did not see God directly but they saw Him as the glory of the Lord (Ex. 24:9-18).
In the tabernacle: God filled the tabernacle with His glory in the form of cloud and guided them (Ex. 40:34-38).
In the temple: When the ark of the Lord was brought into the temple, which Solomon had built, the glory of the Lord filled the temple (1 Kin. 8:10, 11).
To Isaiah: Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne in the temple in a vision and the cloud filled the temple (Is. 6:1-9).
2. Theophany of Christ as an Angel of the Lord
The Bible scholars agree that the record of the appearance of the Angel of the Lord in the Bible refers to Jesus Christ. Here are some of the appearances of the “Angel of the Lord to people in the Bible.
Abraham: The Lord appeared to Abraham and Sarah, and promised Sarah a son (Gen. 18:1-8)
Jacob: The Angel of the Lord spoke to Jacob in the dream to go to the land promised to Abraham (Gen. 31:11, 13).
Moses: The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the flame of fire and revealed Himself as ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Ex. 3:1-14).
Joshua: The Commander of the army of the Lord appeared to Joshua and told Joshua the things that they should do to capture Jericho (Josh. 5:13-6:5).
Israel: The Angel of the Lord appeared to the people who possessed the land and warned them not to make a covenant with the local people and to avoid idolatry (Judg. 2:1-5).
Gideon: The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and called him to save the people of Israel from the Midianites. The Angel of the Lord also disappeared in the fire from the altar (Judg. 6:11-24).
Manoah: The Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and his wife to announce the birth of Samson and disappeared in the fire of the altar (Judg. 13:2-25)
Paul: The Angel of the Lord appeared to Paul on his way to Rome and encouraged him (Acts 27:23, 24)
3. Identity of the Angel of the Lord
The Angel of the Lord is the member of Godhead and some say that Jesus Christ appeared as the Angel of the Lord. This is supported by the following facts.
First, theophany is the appearance of God, since God’s name is interchangeably used in these incidents.
Second, Moses wrote that the Angel of the Lord was God and Lord in many places (Gen. 16:7-12; 21:17, 18; Ex. 3:2-4:28).
Third, Joshua and Moses removed their shoes acknowledging the Angel of the Lord as a divine person (Josh. 5:13-15; Ex. 3:5).
Fourth, the terms ‘Angel of the Lord’ and ‘Angel of God’ are used in the Scripture to refer to the divine person of Godhead (Gen. 21:17; 22:11).
Finally, the Apostle Paul wrote that the Angel was the Rock that followed the people of Israel and the Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4).
4. Relation of Theophanies with revelation
Theophanies show that God revealed Himself not only through the message of the prophets, but also by His personal appearances to individuals. About the
theophanies as the messenger of God J. I. Packer wrote,
God is not only the author and subject of his messages to men but he is also his own messenger. When a man meets God’s word, however casual and accidental the meeting may seem to be, God
meets that man, addressing the word to him personally and calling for a perumal response to himself as its Author (Packer 1982-1025).
5. Theophanies of Christ as incarnate
Jesus Christ appeared to the people after incarnation in different forms. Here are a few forms in which Jesus appeared to people after His resurrection.
First, the resurrected form. Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples and asked Thomas to look at His fingers and hands and put his hands on His side (John 20:26-29).
Second, in the ascended form. At the time of his death, Stephen looked up and saw Jesus the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55, 56)
Third, in the transfigured form. Peter, James and John saw Jesus in the transfigured form in the Mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9).
Fourth, in the glorified form. Jesus will come in glory and everyone will see Him. This is expected to take place soon (Rev. 1:7, 8).
Fifth, as the spiritual Rock. Jesus Christ ‘the Angel of the Lord’ was the spiritual Rock whom we should not tempt as the Israelites tempted (1 Cor. 10:4, 9).
The Bible is the Word of God. No other book in the world is called as the Word of God. This is because the Bible is the only book given to us by divine revelation. The Bible was written by holy men of God who were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. This is the reason that when we study the Bible, it speaks to us with authority.
