1.             Theophany: The Old Testament also records a number of theophanies. A  theophany  is “an appearance of God.” In these theophanies God took on various visible forms to show himself to people. God appeared to Abraham ( Gen. 18:133 ), Jacob ( Gen. 32:2830 ), the people of Israel (as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night:  Ex. 13:2122 ), the elders of Israel ( Ex. 24:911 ), Manoah and his wife ( Judg. 13:2122 ), Isaiah ( Isa. 6:1 ), and others.

A much greater visible manifestation of God than these Old Testament theophanies was found in the person of Jesus Christ himself. He could say, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” ( John 14:9 ). And John contrasts the fact that no one has ever seen God with the fact that Gods only Son has made him known to us: “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, 4  who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known” ( John 1:18 , authors translation). Furthermore, Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” ( Col. 1:15 ), and is “the bright radiance of the glory of God” and is “the exact representation of his nature” ( Heb. 1:3  authors translation). Thus, in the person of Jesus we have a unique visible manifestation of God in the New Testament that was not available to believers who saw theophanies in the Old Testament.

But how will we see God in heaven? We will never be able to see or know all of God, for “his greatness is unsearchable” ( Ps. 145:3 ;  cf .  John 6:46 ;  1 Tim. 1:17 ;  6:16 ;  1 John 4:12 , which were mentioned above). And we will not be able to seeat least with our physical eyesthe spiritual being of God. Nevertheless, Scripture says that we will see God himself. Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for  they shall see God ” ( Matt. 5:8 ). We will be able to see the human nature of Jesus, of course ( Rev. 1:7 ). But it is not clear in exactly what sense we will be able to “see4 the Father and the Holy Spirit, or the divine nature of God the Son ( cf .  Rev. 1:4 ;  4:23 ,  5 ;  5:6 ). Perhaps the nature of this “seeing” will not be known to us until we reach heaven.

Although what we see will not be an exhaustive vision of God, it will be a completely true and clear and real vision of God. We shall see “face to face” ( 1 Cor. 13:12 ) and “we shall see him as he is” ( 1 John 3:2 ). The most remarkable description of the open, close fellowship with God that we shall experience is seen in the fact that in the heavenly city “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him;  they shall see his face  and his name shall be on their foreheads” ( Rev. 22:34 ).

When we realize that God is the perfection of all that we long for or desire, that he is the summation of everything beautiful or desirable, then we realize that the greatest joy of the life to come will be that we “shall see his face.4 This seeing of God “face to face” has been called the  beatific vision  meaning “the vision that makes us blessed or happy” (“beatific” is from two Latin words,  beatus  “blessed,” and  facere  “to make”). To look at God changes us and makes us like him: “We shall be like him, for  we shall see him as he is ” ( 1 John 3:2 ;  cf .  2 Cor. 3:18 ). This vision of God will be the consummation of our knowing God and will give us full delight and joy for all eternity: “in your presence there is fulness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures for evermore” ( Ps. 16:11 ).

  Wayen Grudem  

Lets start

When He appeared to Hagar, she recognized that she was in the presence of God; she referred to Him as “the-God-Who-Sees“ (Gen. 16:13).

While Hagar was in the desert at Shur, on the way to Egypt, the Angel of the Lord came to her. This was the Lord Jesus in one of  His preincarnate appearances, known as a Christophany.  He counseled her to return and submit to Sarai, and promised that her son would become head of a great nation. That promise, of course, is fulfilled in the Arab people. The words Return ... and submit have marked great turning points in the lives of many who have had dealings with God.  Hagars exclamation in verse 13 might be paraphrased, You are a God who may be seen, for she said, Have I also here seen Him who sees me? She named the well Beer Lahai Roi (literally, well of the One who lives and sees me).

Speaking to Abraham on Mount Moriah, the Angel identified Himself as “the  Lord ” (?Heb.?  YHWH , or  Jehovah ; Gen. 22:13-19).

 To offer Isaac was surely the supreme test of Abrahams faith. God had promised to give Abraham a numberless posterity through his son.  Isaac could have been as much as twenty-five at this time, and he was unmarried. If Abraham slew him, how could the promise be fulfilled? According to Hebrews 11:19, Abraham believed that even if he slew his son, God would raise him from the dead. This faith was remarkable because there was no recorded case of resurrection up to this time in the worlds history. When Isaac asked, Where is the lamb?, his father replied, God will provide for Himself the lamb. This promise was not ultimately fulfilled by the ram of verse 13 but by the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

There are two outstanding symbols of Christ in this chapter. Isaac is the first: an only son, loved by his father, willing to do his fathers will, received back from the dead in a figure. The ram is the second: an innocent victim died as a substitute for another, its blood was shed, and it was a burnt offering wholly consumed for God. Someone has said that, in providing the ram as a substitute for Isaac, God spared Abrahams heart a pang He would not spare His own. The Angel of the Lord in verses 11 and 15, as in all the Old Testament, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham named the place  The-Lord-Will-Provide (Jehovah-jireh) (v. 14). This is one of the seven compound names for God in the  OT . The others are:

Jehovah-RophekhaThe Lord who heals you(Ex. 15:26).

Jehovah-NissiThe Lord my banner(Ex. 17:8-15).

Jehovah-ShalomThe Lord our peace(Judg. 6:24).

Jehovah-RoiThe Lord my Shepherd(Ps. 23:1).

Jehovah-TsidkenuThe Lord our righteousness(Jer. 23:6).

Jehovah-ShammahThe Lord is present(Ezek. 48:35).

The Lord swore by Himself because He couldnt swear by anyone greater (Heb. 6:13). Gods promise here, confirmed by His oath, includes the blessing of the Gentile nations through Christ (see Gal. 3:16). In verse 17c God adds to the already vast blessing promised: Abrahams seed would possess the gate of his enemies. This means that his descendants would occupy the place of authority over those who would oppose them. The capture of the city gate meant the fall of the city itself

Jacob heard the Angel introduce Himself as the God of Bethel (Gen. 31:11-13).

The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.  I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Enough said on this verse.

When blessing Joseph, Israel used the names “God” and “the Angel” interchangeably (Gen. 48:15, 16).

And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,  The Angel which redeemed me from all evil (Who else could this Angel be other than the Lord Jesus Christ), bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow bb grow: Heb. as fishes do increase  into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

At the burning bush, it was the “Angel of the  Lord ” who appeared (Ex. 3:2), but Moses “hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Ex. 3:6).

The Lord appeared to him in a bush that burned with fire but ... was not consumed. The bush suggests the glory of God, before which he was told to stand with unshod feet. It might also foreshadow Jehovahs dwelling in the midst of His people without their being consumed.  The word holy occurs here for the first time in the Bible. By removing his sandals, Moses acknowledged that the place was holy.God reassures Moses that He is the God of his forefathers Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. So the Angel of the Lord was the Pre-incarnite Jesus Christ.

The Lord who went before Israel in a pillar of cloud (Ex. 13:21) was none other than the Angel of God” (Ex. 14:19).

Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

Exodus 14:19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.

Clearly the LORD and the Angel of God are both in the same.

Gideon feared that he would die because, in seeing the Angel of the  Lord , he had seen God (Judg. 6:22, 23).

Sensing that he was talking to the Lord, Gideon asked for a sign. Then he prepared an offering of a young goat and of unleavened bread. When the Angel ... touched the offering with his staff and it was consumed by fire, Gideon knew he was in the Lords presence and feared he would die. But the Lord assured him with the words Peace be with you, and Gideon there upon built an altar and named the place Jehovah-Shalom (The-Lord-Is-Peace). Now I ask. Would an Angel who is not God allow himself to be sacraficed to? The Answer is NO. The Angel of the Lord is clearly Jesus Christ.

Judges 6:22-23  Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face."

Then the Lord said to him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die."

I don't see how I can explian it more clearly than the scriptures.

The Angel of the  Lord  told Manoah that His name was Wonderful (Judg. 13:15-20), one of the names of God (Isa. 9:6).

Judges 13:15-20   Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, "Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You."  16 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)  17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?" 18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?"19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on--  20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar--the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.  21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.  22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!" 23 But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time."   Again we see here the Pre-Incarnite Jesus Christ..

When Jacob struggled with the Angel, he struggled with God (Hos. 12:3, 4).

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us--

These are convincing proofs that when the Angel of the  Lord  is referred to in the OT, the reference is to deity.

John F. Walvoord gives four arguments to support this:    

(a) The Second Person is the Visible God of the New Testament.

(b) The Angel of Jehovah of the Old Testament No Longer Appears after the Incarnation of Christ.

(c) Both the Angel of Jehovah and Christ Are Sent by the Father.

(d) The Angel of Jehovah Could Not Be Either the Father Or the Holy Spirit. As for the fourth evidence, Walvoord goes on to explain that the Father and the Spirit are invisible to man and both have the attribute of immateriality.

He concludes, There is not a single valid reason to deny that the Angel of Jehovah is the Second Person, every known fact pointing to His identification as the Christ of the New Testament.

As the Angel of Jehovah, Christ is distinguished from other angels in that He is uncreated. The words translated  Angel  in both Testaments mean “messenger”; He is the  Messenger  of Jehovah.

I will have more to say and add to this a litle later.