Re-Examining Old Testament Theophanies
Paul said that “to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart” (2 Corinthians 3:15). That veil has kept generations from seeing the distinction between Yahweh’s delegated rule and the Father whom Jesus revealed.
One area most affected is the interpretation of Old Testament theophanies—moments when “God” visibly appears to humans.
Truthfully, there is no explicit New Testament statement that Jesus appeared bodily in the Old Testament. Every “Christophany” claim is a later interpretive tradition, not something the Bible itself declares. So we should look at what is really there. For example, the text never says “this was Jesus.”
When the Old Testament says “the LORD appeared” or “the angel of the LORD spoke,” the narrator never identifies that being as the future Messiah. New Testament authors never retroactively name those appearances as Jesus, either. The idea arose centuries later as theologians tried to reconcile “no one has seen God” (John 1:18) with all the OT “God encounters.”
Also, the “Angel of the LORD” isn’t equated with Jesus in Scripture. He speaks for God, receives honor, and sometimes uses first-person divine language—but that’s consistent with ancient agency (a messenger speaking on behalf of a greater being). There’s no verse that says “this angel was the Son.” And the entire Sinai covenant revolves around law and fear—precisely what Jesus came to replace. If Jesus were that fiery presence, His own mission would contradict Himself. The continuity only makes sense if Yahweh, not the Father, was the one operating there.
Lastly, Church Fathers like Justin Martyr and Tertullian faced a dilemma: “No one has seen the Father,” yet “people saw the LORD in the Old Testament.” Their solution—that these must have been pre-incarnate appearances of the Son—is a logical patch, not a textual claim.
These Church Fathers weren’t drawing this from explicit Scripture; they were solving a logic puzzle inside their developing framework.
It let them keep Yahweh as “God” while honoring Jesus’ words about the unseen Father.
Over time, this idea hardened into orthodoxy and was taught as if the Bible said it, even though the text never claims it.
The book, The Yahweh Deception, flips that back to a simpler reading: those appearances were Yahweh’s, a delegated being in the divine council—not pre-incarnate Jesus. The Father Jesus revealed (El Elyon) truly had never been seen.
Christophany theology was a post-apostolic attempt to fix a contradiction inside a developing framework—not a teaching found in the New Testament.
This simpler reading keeps Jesus’ words intact (“no one has seen the Father”) while acknowledging that Old Testament encounters involved Yahweh’s administration, not the unseen Father.
Traditional View of Christophanies
Christian tradition often labels these appearances as Christophanies—pre-incarnate visitations of Jesus.
They seem to make sense of verses where a visible “LORD” speaks face-to-face with people before Bethlehem.
Yet, when we re-examine them through the revelation of El Elyon, the Father above all, the pattern shifts dramatically.
1. The Angel of the LORD Episodes
Genesis 16 (Hagar), 22 (Abraham), Exodus 3 (Moses), Numbers 22 (Balaam), Judges 6 (Gideon), Judges 13 (Samson’s parents)
Traditional reading: Jesus appears temporarily as “the LORD.”
Yahweh Deception lens: these are manifestations of Yahweh or his proxy angel, functioning within the law-based administrative system later confronted by Christ. They carry legal authority, not the relational heart of the Father.
2. Sinai and the Giving of the Law Episodes
Thunder, smoke, fire, and strict boundaries mark Sinai (Ex 19–34).
This is Yahweh’s domain—the covenant of law and fear.
Jesus did not appear there; He came centuries later to replace that system with a Melchizedek, relationship-based priesthood.
3. Jacob Wrestling “God” (Genesis 32)
Jacob’s night encounter transfers covenantal authority.
Rather than a tender Father–Son moment, Jacob’s struggle reads like a legal transaction—a transfer of covenantal authority consistent with Yahweh’s administrative character, not an intimate revelation of the unseen Father. The renaming and blessing function as juridical markers: the encounter settles claims, confers status, and effects a covenantal change.
It is also plausible that Yahweh was acting as El Elyon’s earthly messenger—speaking for the transcendent God of heaven to the patriarchs. That’s from Exodus 6:2–3 (NKJV):
“And God spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.’”
In Hebrew, that reads:
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃ וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָם֙ אֶל־יִצְחָ֣ק וְאֶל־יַעֲקֹ֔ב בְּאֵ֖ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃
Transliteration: Va’yedabber Elohim el-Moshe va’yomer elav, ani YHWH. Va’era el-Avraham, el-Yitzhak, v’el-Ya’akov b’El Shaddai; u’sh’mi YHWH lo noda’ti lahem.
It literally says:
“I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by My name YHWH, I was not made known to them.”
He may be saying that when He appeared to the patriarchs, He did it as a representative of El Shaddai (a title linked to El Elyon), not as YHWH Himself. In Deuteronomy 32:8-9 we see that El Elyon apportioned the nations to varios territorial deities, with YHWH receiveing Jacob’s people (El Elyon’s inheritance) to govern. Thus, Yahweh’s appearances to the patriarchs could be understood as Him acting under the authority of El Elyon, conveying divine will without revealing the transcendent Father directly. This would explain why Abram fell under great fear when he was sleeping and the fire pot passed between the pieces (Genesis 15:12-17)—he was encountering a manifestation of Yahweh’s delegated authority, not the direct presence of El Elyon. It would explain the wrestling of Jacob as well.
4. The Commander of the Host (Joshua 5:13-15)
Sword drawn, commanding holy war—this being reflects Yahweh’s militarized hierarchy.
The scene prefigures the very kind of dominion Jesus later refuses when He tells Peter to put away the sword. The fruit Jesus is showing is of peace, not war. This stands in stark contrast to the character fruit of Yahweh, whose administration is marked by conquest and coercion rather than reconciliation.
5. Melchizedek (Genesis 14; Psalm 110; Hebrews 7)
The sole figure who does foreshadow Christ: king of Salem, priest of El Elyon, offering bread and wine, blessing rather than commanding.
Melchizedek models the priesthood Jesus restores—a covenant of life, not law.
6. Patriarchal “Appearances of the LORD”
When Genesis says “YHWH appeared,” we’re often reading later redactions that replaced older names like El Shaddai or El Elyon with YHWH.
Early encounters likely involved El Elyon, but scribal harmonization merged them into Yahweh’s story.
The Veil and the Revelation
Theophanies that once looked like pre-incarnate Christ now reveal the contrast between two administrations:
- Yahweh’s—legal, territorial, coercive.
- El Elyon’s—relational, restorative, revealed in Jesus.
Removing the veil means recognizing which is which—and letting the fruit of each system expose its source.
Lastly, Jesus said, “No one has seen the Father at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”(John 1:18) The Father remains unseen in the Old Testament because those appearances were not of Him. They were manifestations of Yahweh’s delegated rule, not the relational heart of El Elyon whom Jesus revealed.
Learn More on the Topic of The Yahweh Deception
This article draws from The Yahweh Deception by Wendy Selvig.
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