THE MEDIATOR : HE WAS THERE ALL ALONG
Christ in The Old Testament.
compiled by Rachel Cory 01/05/2008
I TIMOTHY 2:5
AThere is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus.@
When Adam and Eve sinned
a great gulf arose between God and man. Man was estranged from God. He lived in
fear and distrust of the Creator. As
soon as man was separated from the Father by his sin, a Mediator stepped in, to
bring him back into a trusting, love relationship. Who was this Mediator? The Bible says it was, and is Christ, the
divine Son of God, the "one mediator between God and man."
If no human being has ever seen God the Father, then how do we understand those Old Testament passages which say that God Aappeared@ to patriarchs and prophets, and spoke with them.
EXODUS 6:3 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.
THE LORD APPEARED TO
ABRAHAM
GENESIS 17:1-22
AWhen Abram was ninety-nine years old, the
Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
>I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you
exceedingly.=@ ...
AThen He finished talking
with him, and God went up from Abraham.@
(Remember that Christ is
called "Mighty God" in Isaiah 9:6. He is divine.)
GENESIS 18:1-33
AThen the Lord
appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre@ ...
Athree men were standing by him.@ (One of the men said to Abraham)
AI will certainly return
to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a
son.@ (As the
Amen@ are ready to depart)
AAnd the Lord said,
>Shall I hide from
Abraham what I am doing...?=>I will go down now (to
Sodom) and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry
against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.....If I
find fifty righteous...then I will spare all...= Then the men turned
away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before
the Lord. ....So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished
speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.@ (19:1)
ANow the two angels came to Sodom in the evening...@
The threeAmen@ who visited with
Abraham were actually Christ and two of His heavenly angels. The three beings appeared like ordinary
men. The two angels went on to Sodom to
warn Lot, while
Athe Lord@ continued speaking with
Abraham.
CHRIST :
ATHE ANGEL OF THE LORD@
GENESIS 22:1-18
ABut the Angel of the
Lord called to him from heaven and said,
>Abraham, Abraham!= And he said,
>Here I am.= And He (the Angel of the Lord) said,
>Do not lay your hand on
the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you
have not withheld your son your only son, from Me.=@
The Angel of the Lord
speaks as a divine being saying,
AYou have not withheld your son . . . from Me.@
The word Aangel@ means Amessenger@ or Aone sent.@ Christ clearly stated that He had been Asent@ by the Father. He was Athe Word@ even before He became flesh (John 1:14). I believe that the Son of God, represented His Father to all created beings.
ATHE ANGEL@ WHO WRESTLED WITH JACOB
GENESIS 32:24‑30 Jacob wrestled with
Aa Man@ who blessed him and
changed his name to Israel. Jacob said
AI have seen God
face to face and
my life has been preserved.@
HOSEA 12:3
Writing of Jacob and the Angel, Hosea says of Jacob,
AHe struggled with God.@
HOSEA 12:4
AHe (Jacob) had power over the Angel and prevailed.@
GENESIS 31:10‑13 Jacob said,
AThe Angel of God spoke to me in a dream saying,
>I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the
pillar and where you made a vow to Me.=@
GENESIS 48:16
Jacob speaking:
Athe Angel which redeemed
me from all evil bless the lads:@
ATHE ANGEL@ WHO CALLED MOSES
EXODUS 3:2‑6
AAnd the Angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the burning bush:@ (v.4)
AGod called to him out of
the midst of the bush,@ (v.5)
ATake your sandals off
your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.@ (v.6)
AI am the God of your
father--the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.@
EXODUS 3:16 (I AM speaking with Moses at the
burning bush) Go, and gather the elders
of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God
of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited
you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: (Exodus 4:5)
EXODUS 3:13-14
(From the burning bush)AAnd God said to Moses,
>I AM WHO I AM,= And He said,
>Thus you shall say to
the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'@
JOHN 8:58-59
AJesus said to them,
>Most assuredly, I say to
you before Abraham was I AM.= Then they took up stones to throw at him ...@
ATHE ANGEL@ WHO LEAD ISRAEL IN THE
WILDERNESS
EXODUS 14:19
AAnd the Angel of God, which went before
the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them and the pillar of cloud
went from before them and stood behind them.@
EXODUS
33:9‑11
AThe cloudy pillar
descended to
Athe door of the
tabernacle and the Lord talked with Moses.@
(v.11)
ASo the Lord spoke to
Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.@
Note: Remember
ANo man has seen the
Father.@
EXODUS 23:20-21 (Exo. 20:1)
AAnd God spoke all these
words, saying . . . Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep
you in the way and to bring you into the place I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice: do not
provoke Him for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in
Him.@
To an ancient Israelite,
to Moses, the phrase
AMy name is in Him@ meant,
AHe is My Son.@ Moses understood that the
Amessenger@ in the pillar of cloud
Who went before the camp of Israel, Who spoke with Moses
Aface to face@ was the Son of the God of Israel.
In Exodus 6:3 The Being who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of AGod Almighty@ now takes the name JEHOVAH. We recognize this as the name of the Father in Psalm 110:1. When Christ came to earth, He said, AI have come in my Father=s name@ (John 5:43). When Christ acted in place of the Father, He took His Father=s name.
JUDGES 2:1‑2
AAnd the Angel of the Lord came up
from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt,
and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto Your fathers, and
I said, I will never break My covenant with you.@ (v.2)
A... but you have not obeyed My voice.@
ISAIAH
63:9
AIn all their affliction
He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them.@
(Christ is The Messenger
of the Lord's presence, the mediator between God and men. See 1Cor. 10:1-4.)
IT WAS CHRIST WHO SPOKE
TO THE DISLOYAL PROPHET, BALAAM,
NUMBERS
22:1‑40
AThe Angel of the Lord
said to
him ... your way is perverse before Me.@
Notice that the Angel
did not say,
AThus says the Lord,
>Your way is perverse...=@ He was not speaking for
God. The Angel was speaking for Himself
IT
WAS CHRIST WHO SPOKE WITH JOSHUA
JOSHUA 5:13‑15
AAnd it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho
that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold a Man stood opposite him
with His sword drawn in His hand. And
Joshua went to Him and said to Him,
>Are You for us or for our adversaries?= So He said,
>No but as Commander
of the army of the Lord I have now come.= And Joshua fell on his face to the earth to
Him,
>What does my Lord say to
His servant?= Then the Commander of the Lord's army said
to Joshua,
>Take your sandal off
your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.= And Joshua did so.@
Only the divine presence
could make the ground
Aholy.@ (See Exodus chapter 3.)
IT
WAS CHRIST WHO SPOKE WITH GIDEON.
JUDGES 6:11‑40
ANow the Angel of the Lord came and sat
under the terebinth tree ...@
(v.14)
Athen the Lord
turned to him and said ... Have I not sent you?@
(v.17)
AIf now I have found
favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.@
(v.21) the sign;
(v.22)
ANow Gideon perceived that He was the Angel
of the Lord.@ ....
ASo Gideon said,
'Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face
to face.@
Notice once again that
Athe Angel of the Lord@ speaks as a divine
being saying,
AHave I not sent you?@
IT WAS CHRIST WHO SPOKE
WITH THE PARENTS OF SAMPSON.
JUDGES 13:1‑25 (v.18)
AAnd the Angel of the Lord said to him,
>Why do you ask My name,
seeing it is wonderful=@ (v.20)
Athe Angel of the Lord
ascended in the flame of the altar.@ (v.22)
AWe will surely die,
because we have seen God!@
AAnd His name shall be
called, Wonderful...@ Isaiah 9:6.
IT WAS
CHRIST WHO SAVED DANIEL AND HIS FRIENDS.
DANIEL 3:25‑28
ALook, I see four men loose, walking in the midst
of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the
Son of God@ (v.28).
ABlessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who has sent His Angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in
Him.@
DANIEL 6:22 AMy God has sent His Angel, and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me ...@
CHRIST IS REPRESENTED IN BIBLE PROPHECY
AS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, AS THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE
AND AS OUR HEAVENLY HIGH PRIEST.
ZECHARIAH 3:1‑7 REVELATION 8:3‑5 ISAIAH 63:9 HEBREWS 4:14
MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
The name Michael means
Alike unto God.@ Christ the Son of God was
Athe brightness@ of His Father=s glory and
Athe express image of His
person@ (Hebrews 1:3). He existed
Ain the from of God@ and did not
Aconsider it robbery to
be equal with God@ (Philippians 2:5). For a created being to take the name
Alike unto God@ seems blasphemous. But for the Son of God to take that name
seems appropriate.
The word
Aangel@ means
Amessenger.@ Archangel would mean
Achief messenger.@ Christ was the
AWord of God@ before He
Abecame flesh@ (JOHN 1:14). God the Father communicates with His
creation through His Son.
Michael is the only
being in Scripture who is called
Aarchangel.@
Gabriel, although
certainly a high created being is never designated
Aarchangel.@
JUDE 9
AMichael, the archangel@ disputed with the devil
contending for the body of Moses.
Christ
wanted to resurrect Moses, but Satan wanted him to stay dead. He referred Satan
to God the Father for rebuke.
I THESSALONIANS 4:16
AFor the Lord himself
will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the Archangel=s call, and with the
sound of the trumpet of God. And the
dead in Christ will rise first;@ RSV
JOHN 5:25 Christ said,
AThe dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God.@ In other words, the voice of the Archangel
IS the voice of Christ. He is
the Archangel.
AMICHAEL, YOUR PRINCE@
DANIEL 10:21
AMichael@ was called
AYour Prince,@ by the angel Gabriel, speaking to Daniel.
DANIEL 10:13, 20-21 The
angel told Daniel,
Ano one upholds me
against these, except Michael, your prince.@
The
Aprince of the kingdom of
Persia,@ and
Athe prince of Greece@ were evil angels who
fought against God=s angels for control of
earthly kings. The only One who could
help this angel in the fight against these Satanic powers was Michael.
DANIEL 10:13 "But
the prince of the kingdom of Persia (an evil angel) withstood me twenty-one
days; and behold, Michael, one
(first) of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone
there with the kings of Persia.
Note: Here certainly, it is clear that the Aprince of Persia@ must be a supernatural being. No human being could withstand an angel of God, for twenty-one days.
Note: It is my
understanding that the Hebrew word
A>echad,@ here translated
Aone,@ can mean
Afirst.@ Michael is first of the chief
princes.
DANIEL 12:1
AMichael@ is called
A the Great Prince who stands for the
children of your people.@
ACTS 5:31 Of Christ, Paul said,
AHim hath God exalted
with His right hand to be a Prince.@
DANIEL 8:25 The Messiah is called the APrince of princes,@ and APrince of Peace@ (Isaiah 9:6).
REVELATION 12:7
AMichael and His angels fought against the dragon
and his angels.@
(Satan is the
dragon - Revelation 12:9.)
In Joshua 5:13-15,
Athe Commander of the
Lord=s army@ told Joshua to take off
his sandals
Afor the place where you
stand is holy.@ Christ is
Athe Commander of the
Lord=s army.@ His name prior to His
incarnation was Michael -
AOne like
unto God.@
MICHAEL SHALL STAND UP
DANIEL 12:1
AAt that time Michael
shall stand up, the Great Prince who stands watch over the sons of
your people; And there
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to
that time, and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one
who is found written in the book.
Note: The Hebrew word here translated
Astand up,@ can also just as
correctly be translated
Astand still,@ or
Astand back.@ Michael will
Astand still.@ He will let go the restraints on Satan and
his forces of evil. Then will come a
Atime of trouble such as
never was.@
THE ANGEL WITH THE
GOLDEN CENSER
REVELATION 8:1-5
AWhen He opened the
seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the
seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden
censer, came and stood at the alter.
And he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the
prayers of all the saints upon the golden alter which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the
prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel=s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it
with fire from the alter, and threw it to the earth.@
Note: In
the ancient Sanctuary (later the Temple) only the High Priest carried the
golden censer, and then only on the Day of Atonement. John is looking into Heaven, into the
Heavenly Sanctuary, and He sees an angel
with
Aa golden censer.@ This angel must be Christ, our great High
Priest, the Mediator who presents our prayers before God (Heb. 9:1, Heb. 9:23,
Heb. 4;14, Heb. 6:20).
ABEFORE THE WORLD WAS@ : THE FATHER AND THE
SON
I believe that the Son of God existed as a
separate divine being, begotten of the Father (John 1:14) before the world was
created. He was
Athe only begotten Son@ of God. As the Son of God, Christ is a divine being
worthy of our worship.
JOHN 17:5
AAnd now, O Father,
glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You
before the world was.@
JOHN
17:24
AFather ... You loved Me
before the foundation of the world.@
JOHN 1:1-3
AIn the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
@
AAnd the Word became
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 (John 1:14).@
JOHN 16:27-28 AFor the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.@
2JOHN 1:3
AGrace, mercy, and peace
will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of the Father, in truth and love.@
JOHN 3:16 AFor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.@
TWO DIVINE BEINGS : THE
FATHER AND THE SON
JOHN
14:31 Jesus said,
AI love the Father.@
JOHN
10:7, 15:9, 17:24, 17:26 Jesus said,
AThe Father loves me.@
JOHN
10:30 (John 17:21-22) Jesus said,
AI and My Father are one.@
JOHN
15:23 Jesus said,
AHe who hates Me hates My
Father also.@
JOHN
16:3 Jesus said,
AThey have not known the
Father nor Me.@
Why is there no mention of His love for the Holy Spirit, or of the hatred of the world for the Holy Spirit? Why does Christ not say that He was also loved by the Holy Spirit, dwelt in by the Holy Spirit, or Aone@ with the Holy Spirit? He said, AThe Father who dwells in Me does the works@ (John 14:10)
I JOHN
1:3
AOur fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.@
I JOHN
2:24
AYou also will abide in
the Son and in the Father.@
REVELATION 5:13
AAnd every creature which
is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea,
and all that are in them, I heard saying:
>Blessing and honor and glory and power be to
Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!=@
Only two divine beings
are worshiped in this scene.
WE ARE NOT TO WORSHIP
CREATED BEINGS.
REVELATION 19:10
AAnd I (John) fell at his
feet to worship him. But he said to me,
>See that you do not do that! I am your fellow
servant, and of your brethren who have the Testimony of Jesus. Worship God!=@
REVELATION 22:8,9 (JOHN)
AI fell down to worship before the feet of the
angel who showed me these things. Then
he said to me,
>See that you do not do
that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your
brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.=@
When John fell down to worship a messenger other
than Christ, and was corrected. Christ is not a created being. He is the Son of God - begotten of the Father,
worthy of worship(Hebrews 1:6, Revelation 5:12-13). He is called
Athe Angel of the Lord@ and
Athe Archangel,@ because He is
Athe Word,@ the Communicator, the Mediator between God and man.
SON OF GOD
MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND
FALLEN MANKIND
WORD OF GOD, ARCHANGEL
MICHAEL, COMMANDER OF THE LORD=S ARMY
ANGEL OF THE LORD, ANGEL
OF HIS PRESENCE
LAMB OF GOD
HIGH PRIEST
COMFORTER WITH US ALWAYS
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
God the Father could not become a
helpless babe, and die on a cross, while at the same time upholding all
things. Before He began His creation,
God made provision for our rescue. He
beget a Son in His express image.
Through His son, God communicated with His creation. The Son took the form of the created being
(first of an angel, then of a man) in order to facilitate this communication.
The Son would be the means whereby God
could be just, and yet the justifier.
Through His Son, God created this world.
Through His Son God will finally save this world from sin and from Satan. From the beginning, until the glorious end,
we see the Son of God assuming another, and another, and yet another role -
fromAangel of His Presence,@ to
ALamb slain from the
foundation of the world,@ to High Priest before
the throne of God. The goal -
reconciliation and reunion with the Father.
We are reconciled to the Father, through the Son.
AFor it pleased the Father
that in Him all the
fullness should dwell,
and by Him
to reconcile all things
to Himself
@
Colossians 1:19-20
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