Eph 263 4/17/86

DOCTRINE OF THE THEOPHANIES OF GOD

A. Definition.

A theophany is a manifestation of the person and work of Jesus Christ in His preincarnate state. This is a theological category for the appearances of Jesus Christ before the First Advent.

B. Theophanies demonstrate the fact that Jesus Christ is the God of Israel.

1. As the Angel of the Lord, the primary Theophany.

a. SHAMA ISRAEL, ADONAI ELOHENU, ADONAI ECHAD; “Hear O Israel: Adonai is our God; Adonai [Jesus Christ] is unique.”

b. This is substantiated by the fact that Jesus Christ as a theophany appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Ex 3:2 cf. Acts 7:30-35. He was called MALACH ADONAI, the angel or messenger of Jehovah. This reference is conclusive in itself.

c. As the angel of God (the Lord), Jesus Christ is in the pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night to lead Israel through the desert, Ex 13:21, 14:19, 23:20-23, 32:34, 33:2; Num 20:16; Isa 63:9. The Isaiah reference especially emphasizes the fact that the angel of the Lord, the theophany of Jesus Christ, is the God of Israel.

d. As the God of Israel, Jesus Christ as the angel of the Lord warned the judges of Israel in Judges 2:1-4.

e. Not only did Jesus Christ as the God of Israel appoint Moses the first leader of the Jewish nation, but He also appointed the second leader, Gideon, in Judges 6:11-24.

f. As the God of Israel, Jesus Christ is always mentioned in the Old Testament under the title “Theophany."

g. Job 33:23-25, “Yet if there is an angel on his side [Jesus Christ] as a mediator, one out of a thousand to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say, `Spare him from going down to the grave; I have found a ransom for him;’ then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth.”

2. As a Man.

a. While “angel” or MALACH was the primary form in which Jesus Christ was manifest to people in the Old Testament, there are other theophanies as well.

b. He appears to Abraham as a man in Gen 18:1-33.

c. He was the wrestler with Jacob in Gen 32:24-32, also mentioned in Hosea 12:4.

d. He appeared as a man to the elders of Israel in Ex 24:9-11. Verse 9-10 specifically emphasize that Jesus Christ, appearing as a man in theophany, is the God of Israel. 3. In relationship to clouds.

a. Jesus Christ is called “the cloud of the Lord, the glory of the Lord” in Ex 40:38.

b. He is in the cloudy pillar by day in Ex 33:9-23.

C. Importance. All these references are important to understand certain principles in the Old Testament, and to understand that there are direct statements that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer in the Old Testament. So this further emphasizes the fact that salvation in the Old Testament is not by keeping the Law (works), but by personal faith in Jesus Christ.

D. The Identification of the Angel of the Lord.

1. The Angel of the Lord identifies Himself as Jehovah or God.

a. When the angel of the Lord spoke to Hagar in Gen 16:7-13, He also identified Himself as God, under the sacred tetragrammaton title JHWH.

b. Likewise, when you compare Gen 22:11-18 with Gen 48:15-16, the same principle emerges. The angel of the Lord identifies Himself as the Lord, or as God. c. Judges 6:11-24, 13:3-23.

d. So in passages where the angel of the Lord is identified as the Lord, it is the declaration of the deity of Christ. It therefore refutes all the false doctrine that Jesus Christ was truly God but a super human being.

2. The angel of Jehovah is a distinct person from Jehovah.

a. This is important, for it helps us to understand how the Trinity was taught in the Old Testament. It taught that there was more than one person in the Godhead. b. When this distinction occurs, ADONAI alone refers to God the Father; whereas MALACH ADONAI refers to God the Son.

c. This distinction is made in Zech 1:12-13; Ex 23:20-23, 32:24; 1 Chr 21:15-18.

E. Jesus Christ is the only visible member of the Trinity.

1. The second person of the Trinity is the only visible God of the New Testament and the only visible God of the Old Testament.

2. There are direct statements as to this truth in the New Testament, as in Jn 1:18 and 6:46.

3. But it is just as provable in the Old Testament, not by direct statement, but by an accurate understanding of this doctrine of theophanies. For the only visible manifestations of God in the Old Testament are theophanies, which refer only to Jesus Christ.

F. Termination of Theophanies. When the Incarnation and Hypostatic Union occurred, there were no longer any Theophanies. Instead, from that point on, there are Christophanies, which were appearances of Christ in His resurrection body from the time of His resurrection until He ascended. (See the Doctrine of the Appearances of Jesus Christ.)

G. The angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ in the New Testament are both said to be sent by God the Father.

H. Proof of Redemptive Salvation in the Old Testament.

1. Theophany is a theological proof of the pre-existence of our Lord Jesus Christ as the visible God of the Old Testament.

2. Therefore, the Theophany of Christ mentioned in Job 33:23-25 becomes very important in establishing some principles regarding the doctrine of redemption, “the ransom for Job.” This establishes the fact that many people question, that Job is definitely born-again. 3. The “ransom for Job” in Job 33:24 is a reference to redemption, or the sinward side of soteriology.

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R. B. Thieme, Jr. Bible Ministries 5139 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056 (713) 621-3740

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