THEOPHANIES OF GOD IN THE BIBLE
Biblical study on the theophanies of God in the Bible. What is theophany?
One of the ways in which God revealed Himself in the Old Testament and dealt with man on the level of a man was through the use of theophanies. A theophany is a visible manifestation of God, and we normally consider it to be temporary in nature.
Theophanies: God appeared to Abraham
God appeared to Abraham in a vision, as a smoking furnace and a flaming torch, and as a man (Genesis 15:1; 15:17; 18:1-33). In this last instance, God and two angels appeared in the form of three men (18:2) and ate food provided by Abraham. The two angels left for Sodom while God stayed behind to speak with Abraham (Genesis 18:22; 19:1).
Theophanies: God appeared to Jacob in a dream
God appeared to Jacob in a dream and as a man (Genesis 28:12-16; 32:24-32). On this last occasion, Jacob wrestled with the man and proclaimed, “I saw God face to face.” The Bible also describes this appearance as “the angel” (Hosea 12:4).
Theophanies: God Appeared to Moses
Theophanies: God manifested himself to Israel
God manifested himself in the sight of all Israel through thunder, lightning, a cloud, a trumpet call, smoke, fire, and earthquakes (Exodus 19:11-19; Deuteronomy 5:4-5, 22-27). He also displayed his glory and sent fire from his presence in the sight of all Israel (Leviticus 9:23,24; 10:1-2).
Theophanies: Job saw God in a whirlwind and various prophets saw visions of God
Job saw God in a whirlwind (Job 38:1; 42:5). Several of the prophets saw visions of God (Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1:26-28; 8:1-4; Daniel 7:2,9; Amos 9:1). He appeared to Ezekiel in the form of a man, engulfed in fire. He appeared to Daniel in a night vision as the Ancient of Days.
Many other verses of Scripture tell us that God appeared to someone but do not describe the manner in which he did so. For example, God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Samuel (Genesis 12:7; 17:1; 26:2; 24; 35:9-15; I Samuel 3:21). Similarly, God descended on Mount Sinai and stood by Moses, revealed Himself to seventy-four leaders of Israel, descended in a pillar of cloud and stood before Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, came by night to Balaam , and came to meet Balaam on two other occasions (Exodus 34:5; 24:9-11; Numbers 12:4-9; 23:3-10, 16-24).
In addition to the appearances mentioned above, the Bible records other manifestations that many believe to be God himself. In Joshua 5:13-15, a man with a sword appeared to Joshua and identified himself as the “Prince of the Lord’s army.” This title and the fact that he did not rebuke Joshua for worshiping him (in contrast to Revelation 19:9 -10; 22:8-10) suggests that this was really a manifestation of God. On the other hand, the words of this passage leave open the possibility that Joshua did not worship the Prince, but rather he worshiped God because of the Prince’s appearance.
THEOPHANY: NUMEROUS APPEARANCES OF THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH
Theophanies of God: The Angel of Jehovah
Some of the many manifestations of the “angel of Jehovah” appear to be theophanies. Jehovah’s angel appeared to Hagar, he spoke as if he were God, and she called him God (Genesis 16:7-13). The Bible says that the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses at the burning bush, but then it says that God spoke to Moses on that occasion (Exodus 3; Acts 7:30-38).
Exodus 13:21 says that Jehovah went before Israel in a pillar of cloud, while Exodus 14:19 says that the angel of God was with the pillar of cloud. Jehovah’s angel appeared to Israel in Judges 2:1-5 and spoke as God. Judges 6:11-24 describes the appearance of Jehovah’s angel to Gideon and then says that Jehovah looked at Gideon. Again, the angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah and his wife, and they believed they had seen God (Judges 13:2-23).
Other visitations by the angel of Jehovah do not indicate whether or not they were manifestations of God himself, although people often presume that they were. Some examples are the appearances to Abraham on Mount Moriah and to Balaam (Genesis 22:11-18; Numbers 22:22-35). Sometimes the angel of Jehovah is clearly not a manifestation of God. Some examples are the apparitions to David and Zacharias (II Samuel 24:16; I Chronicles 21:15-30; Zechariah 1:8-19). (See Chapter VII for further discussion.) The angel of the Lord in the New Testament is apparently no more than an angel, and certainly not Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:20; 2:13; 28:2; Acts 8:26 ).
Looking at all these verses of Scripture, some say that the angel of Jehovah is always a direct manifestation of God. However, some of the above mentioned instances do not support this idea and two of them currently contradict it. Others say that the angel of Jehovah is in some instances a manifestation of God, and in others not. This second idea seems to be consistent with the Scriptures.
A third idea, however, is that the angel of Jehovah is never Jehovah, but a literal angel. To support this last idea, one would emphasize that angels are spokesmen, messengers, and agents of God. In other words, this idea contends that it is correct to say that “the Lord said” or “the Lord did” even though He said or did it through the agency of an angel. Under this idea, a description of an act of God in the account of an angelic appearance is simply a way of saying briefly that God acted through the angel. Since the biblical writers make it clear at the beginning of the accounts that an angel was the direct agent, there need not be any ambiguity or discrepancy. In this idea, people who recognized God’s visitation were either mistaken in their belief that they had seen God himself, or, more reasonably, recognized that God was using an angel to speak to them and so addressed God through the angel.
There is another way to reconcile this third idea with the verses of Scripture that identify Jehovah’s angel with Jehovah himself: Namely, that the angel visibly appeared, but that the Lord was also invisibly present. So references to the Lord as acting or speaking could literally mean the Lord and not the angel.
It is evident that the angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament was not always the Lord himself. A person can plausibly hold that the angel of Jehovah was never an actual theophany, but cannot seriously contend that the angel of Jehovah was always a theophany. The simplest explanation is that the phrase, “the angel of Jehovah,” sometimes refers to a theophany of God but at other times denotes nothing more than an ordinary angel.
One Trinitarian scholar sums up the prevailing idea as follows:
“In the Old Testament the angel of Jehovah could only be a messenger of God (the same Hebrew word means messenger), distinct from God himself (2 Samuel 24:16), or he could be identified with the Lord himself speaking of Himself . . . the fact that God cannot be clearly illustrated is typical of Old Testament theophanies. . . God has the freedom to manifest his presence, at the same time that humans have to be protected from his immediate presence.”
MANY VIEW MELCHISEDEC AS A THEOPHANY OF GOD
Melchizedek a theophany of God?
Many consider Melchizedek a theophany (Genesis 14:18). Hebrews 7:3 says that he was without father, without mother, and without genealogy. This could mean that he was God in human form, or it could simply mean that his genealogical origin was not recorded. Hebrews 7:4 (in the King James translation) refers to him as a man. Whether one considers him to be an ordinary man or a theophany of God in the form of a man, he was a type or shadow of Christ (Hebrews 7:1-17).
THE FOURTH MAN IN THE FIRE FURNACE, A SUPPOSED THEOPHANY OF GOD
Theophany of God in the fiery furnace?
The king was using pagan terminology and had no knowledge of the future arrival of the only begotten Son of God. Most likely the king saw an angel, as he described this manifestation as an angel (Daniel 3:28). It seems that the phrase “sons of God” may refer to angelic beings (Job 38:7). At best, what Nebuchadnezzar saw could only be a temporary theophany of God. It is certain that this was not a view of the Son of God described in the New Testament, for the Son had not been born and the role of the Son had not begun.
ARE THERE THEOPHANIES OF GOD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
Christ was more than a theophany of God
The New Testament does not record any theophanies of God in human form outside of Jesus Christ. Of course, Christ was more than a theophany; He was not only God appearing in the form of a man but he was God clothed in a body and a true human nature.
Why this lack of theophanies of God in the New Testament?
The reason for the lack of theophanies in the New Testament is that there is no need for them. God is fully expressed in Jesus Christ. Jesus fully declares and reveals the Father (John 1:18). Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the radiance of his glory, and the express image of his substance (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3).
CONCLUSION ON THE THEOPHANIES OF GOD
God’s theophanies
In the Old Testament God chose to reveal various aspects of His nature to man through various theophanies. In the New Testament era, God’s progressive revelation…