THEOPHANY
The appearances of the Deity receive this name. God the Father is invisible (John 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16). He was manifested to men in the person of the Angel of the Lord (Gen. 16:7; Ex. 32:34; 33:14), the Angel of the Covenant (Mal. 3:1), and Christ.
It distinguishes:
(a) The theophanies of the OT, which prepared the coming of Christ.
(b) The incarnation of Christ, God manifested in flesh.
(c) The return of Christ.
In the OT, God manifested himself to the patriarchs in an intermittent manner.
Since the Exodus, these passing manifestations were primarily replaced by the permanent presence of God, the “Shekinah” that resided among the cherubim, first in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.
When the departure from Egypt took place, Jehovah went before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud; At night, that column took on the appearance of fire (Ex. 13:21, 22).
Over Sinai a thick cloud could be seen, and then smoke, because the Lord descended in the midst of fire (Ex. 19:16, 18).
Later, the cloud of the glory of the Lord rested on Sinai for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord called Moses. The appearance of this glory was like a devouring fire (Ex. 24:16, 17).
When Moses entered the first Tabernacle of the Testimony, the cloud descended and stopped at the entrance of the tent, where Jehovah spoke with him (Ex. 33:9-11; cf. Deut. 5:4).
When the Tabernacle was erected, Jehovah took possession of it. His glory filled him, and the cloud rested on him day and night (Ex. 40:34, 35; Num. 9:15, 16).
Moses heard the voice of the Lord addressing him from the top of the mercy seat (Num. 7:89; cf. Ex. 25:22; Lev. 16:2; Ex. 16:7, 10; Lev. 9:6, 23 ; Num. 14:10; 16:19, 42; 20:6).
During the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, the glory of the Lord also filled the building (1 Kings 8:10, 11); It was definitively removed during the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem (Ez. 9:3, 6; 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-23).
The passing appearances to the patriarchs had given way to the constant presence of God in the sanctuary; The next step was the incarnation of the Lord, who came to dwell among men.
And men saw His glory, glory much greater than that of the first dwelling of the Lord (Hag. 2:9), because the physical body of the Lord Jesus Christ was a true temple (John 2:21), destined to manifest much better still the divine presence among men.
In the last stage we will be introduced before the very throne of the fully revealed God. Then there will be no more need for theophanies: the Lord will be all in all, we will see each other face to face, and we will know as we are known (1 Cor. 13:12; Rev. 22:3).