The Gospel of John shows us the genealogy of Jesus showing he is the Son of God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
We know Jesus has no beginning.
The pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus are referred to as theophanies or occasionally Christophanies. Theophany means appearance of God and Christophany means appearance of Christ. A pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus refers to an appearance by Jesus normally in a visible form usually of a man in the Old Testament prior to his being born by Mary in Bethlehem. Often times this is seen by him being referred to as the angel of the LORD, but not always. (angel of God) Often we see people recognizing they had seen God and or worshipped the angel of the LORD showing he was God. Some appearances are seen below.
1. The first appearance of Jesus is seen I believe in Genesis Chapter 3. I believe Jesus walked with them in the garden of Eden prior to their fall and not just spoke to them from heaven.
Jesus appeared to Abraham on more than one occasion.
2. When Abraham was in the plain of Moreh shortly after he left Haran after being told by God to go to the land of Canaan. He was 75.
Genesis 12:7-8 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
3. After Abraham rescued Lot after he had been captured by several kings who made war with the king of Sodom, he was visited by Melchizedek, the king of Salem.
(Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.)
Abraham tithed Melchizedek recognizing his importance. Melchizedek was the priest of the most high God. I believe Melchizedek was Jesus. We see this in Hebrews Chapters 5 and 7 with five meaning grace and seven completeness or spiritual perfection.
(Hebrews 7:1-4 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.)
(Hebrews 7:17:For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.)
If you will notice, you will see that in Hebrews 7:2 King is capitalized. King is only capitalized in the King James Bible when referring to Jesus as Jesus is King of kings. There are only three exceptions when king starts a sentence or quote and all words in the Bible including “and” are capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or quote. This is not the case in the corrupt non King James Bibles such as the New International Version (NIV), New King James Version (NKJV), New Living Translation (NLT), English Standard Version (ESV), or Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) (Southern Baptist version) where they capitalize king for all earthly kings. That is not correct or Biblical.
4. We read in Genesis 18 how Jesus and two angels appeared to Abraham, ate with him, and then Jesus told Abraham how he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them for their sins. Abraham’s nephew Lot lives in Sodom and so Abraham tries to bargain with God to save Lot. Abraham asked God to spare Sodom if there were only 50 righteous, 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally ten.
(Genesis 18:1-3 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:)
(Genesis 18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.)
5. Jesus appeared to Isaac in Beersheba:
(Genesis 26:24-25 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.)
Jacob wrestled Jesus the night before he met with Esau after he escaped from Laban with his family after serving for Leah and Rachel.
(Genesis 32:24-32 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.)
6. Moses and burning bush.
Moses had been out attending his father in law Jethro’s flock of sheep, when he saw the burning bush.
(Exodus 3:2-6 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.)
7. Jesus appeared to Moses and others just before he received the ten commandments.
(Exodus 24:9-11 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.)
8. We see Jesus appear to Balaam after he was told not to go and curse Israel after he was asked by the king of Moab (Balak) The king of Moab had asked Balaam to come to Moab and curse Israel because he was afraid of them. Balaam at first refused and then agreed to go, but said he would only go if God allowed him and would only say what God gave him to say. On the way, God was angry with Balaam and used a talking ass (donkey) to get Balaam’s attention.
(Numbers 22:22-35 22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.)
9. Appearance to Gideon:
(Judges 6:11-21 11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.)
Gideon went on to defeat the Midianites and became a judge of Israel.
10. Story of Manoah with Samson.
(Judges 13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.)
(Judges 13:8-22 8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he wasan angel of the LORD.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.)
11. Sennacherib the king of Assyria sent his troops to surround Jerusalem and try and convince Judah to surrender to him. Hezekiah the king of Judah had prayed to God to protect Judah and Isaiah told Hezekiah that God had heard his pray. Here is God’s answer.
(Isaiah 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses) (185,000 dead) The king of Assyria went back home and was killed by his sons.
12. In the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they had refused to bow down to the gold statue of king Nebuchadnezzar that he made from the vision in his dream. The statue was (60 cubits high) 90 feet high and (6 cubits wide) 9 feet wide and all were to bow to it when the king had music played. The Hebrew boys refused and were thrown into the fiery furnace made seven times hotter than usually done. Jesus appeared to the men.
(Daniel 3:22-26 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.)
(Capital S for Son in the proper King James Bible.) (not a son of the gods such as in New International Version (NIV), et cetera. This was Jesus, despite that many try to deny it.) Nebuchadnezzar did not invite Jesus to come out of the fire which I find interesting. I pray that all who are reading this will invite Jesus into their heart and lives.
13. When Moses was getting ready to transfer leadership to Joshua just before his death, Jesus appeared before the two as a cloud.
(Deuteronomy 31:14-15 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.
15 And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.)
14. The LORD appeared to Samuel.
God called Samuel when he was a young boy living with the high priest Eli.
(I Samuel 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.) (I Samuel 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.)
15. Jesus was also with the Israelites in the wilderness as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Jesus also appeared in visions and dreams and spoke to others such as Hagar when she fled from Sarai. The angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar and told her she would give birth to Ishmael and her son would be a wild man. There are other appearances in the scriptures other than those I presented such as when Moses saw the back of God. This was Jesus. All physical appearances of God in the Old Testament were of Jesus.
Theophanies are only in the Old Testament for once Jesus was born as a man in the flesh they were no longer needed.
