What is a theophany? What is a Christophany (Bible Q & A archive #18)

rudel (12)in #bible • 6 years ago

Question #18

What is a theophany? What is a Christophany?

Bible Answer

Mathew 1:23

¶ 23. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.'

Genesis 12:7-9

¶ 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. 9. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Genesis 32:22-30

¶ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.'(Jacob wrestled with what appeared to be a man, but was actually God/This may also have been a Christophany. )

Exodus 3:2 - 4:17

¶ 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.

Exodus 4:17

¶ 17. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.

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.

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.

Supplemental Answer

A theophany is a manifestation of God in the Bible that is tangible to the human senses. In its most restrictive sense, it is a visible appearance of God in the Old Testament period, often, but not always, in human form. Some of the theophanies are found in the passages above

Every theophany wherein God takes on human form foreshadows the incarnation, where God took the form of a man to live among us as Emmanuel, “God with us” Matthew 1:23