Christ Appeared to the Patriachs and Prophets
I’m citing a few passage below where the “Almighty” appeared or spoke directly to the patriarchs and the prophets:
Gen 35:11
And God said unto him[Jacob], I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
Gen 48:3 “3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
Exodus 6:1-3 “Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.
Exodus 33:11 “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
Exodus 33: 19-23 "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live……And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
The Almighty appearing to the patriarchs are generally understood to mean that the Father appeared to them...
And yet, we are told that no one has seen God:
John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 5:37 “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, NOR SEEN HIS SHAPE.”
1 Tim. 6:13-16. “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things...who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom NO MAN HATH SEEN, NOR CAN SEE; to whom be honor and power everlasting."
The way I reconcile these seemingly contradictory statement is that Christ acted in Father's stead as the God of the Old Testament. both Scripture and SOP (if you believe in the writings of Ellen White) make it pretty clear.
One thing most people overlook is that the “Almighty” that spoke to Moses on the Mount Sinai actually appeared to him as the “Angel of the Lord.”
"Behold, I send an ANGEL before thee, to keep thee in the way, and TO BRING THEE INTO THE PLACE WHICH I HAVE PREPARED. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for HE WILL NOT PARDON YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS: FOR MY NAME IS IN HIM." (Ex. 23:20,21)
"And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an ANGEL OF THE LORD in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, THE VOICE OF THE LORD came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold." (Acts 7:30-32)
"This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the ANGEL which SPAKE TO HIM in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us." (v. 38) [mine]
“Christ is the One THROUGH WHOM God has AT ALL TIMES revealed Himself to man. “BUT TO US THERE IS BUT ONE GOD, THE FATHER, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6.
“This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the Angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” Acts 7:38.
This Angel was the Angel of God’s presence (Isaiah 63:9), THE ANGEL IN WHOM WAS THE NAME OF THE GREAT JEVOHAH (Exodus 23:20-23). THE EXPRESSION CAN REFER TO NO OTHER THAN THE SON OF GOD.” {PP 761.4}
“The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name “Jesus” on the roll of the first-born. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.” Acts 3:22. HE DID NOT THINK THAT THIS BABE WAS HE WHOSE GLORY MOSES HAD ASKED TO SEE. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’s arms; and when he enrolled the child’s name, he was enrolling the name of One who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. {DA 52.2}