1 John 5, the verse that I want to point out is in verse number 7 there, the famous verse
that says,
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one.
And what I want to preach about tonight is the subject of Old Testament appearances of
Christ.
I want to show you some things in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ physically bodily
appearing even in those days.
But before we get into that, I wanted to read 1 John 5, 7 just because it's important
to understand the truth of the Trinity in order to understand these passages in the
Old Testament where Jesus Christ appeared in bodily form even before Bethlehem's manger.
Now the doctrine of the Trinity is under attack and it's under attack from two different sides.
On one hand, it's under attack from those who do not believe in the deity of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
And they would say that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but they say, but He is not God
Himself.
He's a created being or something of that nature.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe something along those lines.
The Mormons believe something along those lines.
And I'm not going to preach on the deity of Christ, but there are so many scriptures that
tell us, for example, Hebrews 1, 8, unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever, a scepter of righteousness, the scepter of Thy kingdom.
Jesus Himself said, Why callest thou me good?
There's none good but one.
That is God.
And if Jesus Christ is good, which of course we know He is, that means He's also God.
The Bible says, Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh, speaking of Jesus Christ in 2 Timothy 3.16.
So over and over again, we see all these references to Jesus being God.
But the doctrine of the Trinity is under attack also from another angle of what's called
the Jesus only movement.
And these are people who don't believe in the Trinity, instead they believe that basically
Jesus is the Father.
They are one and the same.
Now in a sense, they are one because the Bible says right here, these three are one.
So on the surface, when you first hear it, it doesn't sound wrong to you.
You hear it?
Of course, Jesus is God, no big deal.
But when you go a little deeper with that doctrine, it actually does not jive with scripture
when they have this teaching where they say there is no Trinity.
And we'll get into that a little bit later in the sermon too.
But you say, well, the word Trinity is not in the Bible.
Well, the Trinity is right here in this verse because it says these three are one.
And that's all the word Trinity is, is just the tri meaning three, that prefix, and then
the unity meaning one.
Trinity is just a shortened abbreviation, three and one.
So if we wanted to, we could go around saying, well, I believe in the doctrine of three and
one.
These three are one.
But just saying I believe in the these three are one doesn't roll off the tongue as well
as Trinity.
So there's nothing wrong with the word Trinity to express exactly what this verse is expressing.
Now those who are in the Jesus only movement will take exception to the term, you know,
God in three persons.
And they'll try to make it all about that term, three persons, three persons.
And this is just because a lot of people just copy and paste statement of faith for the
last several hundred years.
You know, they're still stuck on like the 1689 Baptist confession or so I don't know.
But there's just a lot of copying and pasting going on with statements of faith.
And a lot of people aren't even reading these things or thinking for themselves.
So you hear a lot of these things, but I wouldn't use the term persons just because it's not
a biblical term.
So that becomes a straw man of oh, it's three different people because persons means people,
okay.
But again, instead of getting into those kind of silly semantics, if we want to just have
a biblical view of what the Trinity is, it's that these three are one.
There is only one God according to the Bible.
But that God is also three.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
And these three are one.
Case closed.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now to say that there is absolutely no difference between the Father and the Son is false because
there is a difference.
There's the Father and then there's the Son.
Now they're both God.
There's only one God.
And you say, well, I don't understand it.
Well, it doesn't matter whether you understand it.
It's what the Bible says.
There are probably a lot of things you don't understand about the Bible and things I don't
understand about the Bible.
But if you look at us as human beings, we are a similar creature because we are body,
soul, and spirit.
And in fact, body, soul, and spirit can be separated.
Because the Bible says the body without the spirit is dead.
So when I give up the ghost, as the Bible says, or die, my spirit will leave my body.
And the spirit will go unto the Lord and the body will remain.
And if someone walked up to that dead body and identified it and said, that is Steven
Anderson, that would be accurate.
And if they walked up to me in heaven and said, you're Steven Anderson, that would
also be accurate.
Even though we're in two different places.
And even though we're the same guy, Steven Anderson.
Because there's the body, the soul, and the spirit, at this point, united.
At some point in the future, separated.
Unless I'm alive and remain unto the coming of our Lord, which I'm praying for.
But I'm going to be one of the ones that survives.
If it happens in our lifetime, you know, that's what I'm praying for.
So that should help you understand the Trinity, hopefully.
That people who attack the Trinity, you know, they're teaching false doctrine.
Because the Trinity is the biblical view of who God is.
So let's go to some of these Old Testament appearances, and I'm not going to be conclusive
tonight or say, hey, we're turning to every Old Testament appearance of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's not the point of the sermon.
The point of the sermon is to teach you the doctrine here.
So flip back, first of all, to the most obvious one that there is, which is Daniel 3.25.
This is the most obvious one that would just instantly pop into your mind.
Because of the fact that it literally mentions the Son of God.
Pretty hard to escape this one, isn't it?
It says in Daniel 3.24, the Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astonished and rose up in haste
and spake and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst
of the fire?
They answered and said unto the king, true, O king.
He answered and said, lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they
have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
So in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Nebuchadnezzar looks in and
says, hey, we only threw in three guys.
There are four men in the fire, and he said the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God.
Now you say, well, that's just Nebuchadnezzar just said that.
But here's the thing about it.
There was somebody in that fire, wasn't there?
And why would God have recorded those words?
It would be misleading to record those words of Nebuchadnezzar if it had nothing to do
with what was actually going on in that fire.
It's very significant when he says the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Read it for me from the non-inspired version.
You say, why are you always pulling out the NIV?
Because of the fact that I want to continually remind you how much perversion and corruption
exist in these modern versions.
This needs to be harped upon because of the fact that sometimes if we don't take heed
onto the things which we've learned, we could let them slip.
Listen to Daniel 3.25.
You look down at the King James Version.
He's going to read from the non-inspired version.
He said, look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the
fourth looks like a son of the gods.
Did you hear that?
Looks like a son of the gods.
Not the Son of God, but a son of the gods.
So now it's just some pagan utterance out of the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar instead of
being this amazing Old Testament appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Go back to Genesis chapter 18.
Let's look at something a little more concrete.
Genesis chapter 18, I don't have any doubt in my mind, even for one split second that
in Daniel 3.25, Nebuchadnezzar was right and that Jesus Christ was the fourth man in the
fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
But back in Genesis 18, we have a very interesting appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in bodily
form before Abraham.
Look at verse 1 of Genesis 18.
The Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre and he sat in the tent door in the
heat of the day.
Now let me point out to you the word Lord there in all capital letters.
The Lord, this is Jehovah God himself.
And the Bible says the Lord appeared unto Abraham.
And it says in verse 2, he lift up his eyes, this is Abraham, and looked and lo, three
men stood by him.
And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward
the ground.
So remember, this is the Lord appearing unto Abraham.
And these three men show up and he runs out to meet them, verse 3, and said, my Lord,
if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away I pray thee from thy servant.
Little little water I pray you be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under
the tree.
And I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort ye your hearts.
After that ye shall pass on, for therefore are you come to your servant.
And they said, so do as thou hast said.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and said, make ready quickly three measures
of fine meal, knead it and make cakes upon the hearth.
And Abraham ran into the herd and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto
a young man and he hasted to dress it.
Man you want to talk about fresh food.
I mean they're killing the animal right then and there before it's served.
Those were the days.
And he took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed and set it before them and
he stood by them under the tree and they did eat.
So is this just a spirit or an apparition?
This is somebody's there in bodily form because they are eating the food that he has prepared.
It says in verse number 9, and they said unto him, where is Sarah thy wife?
And he said, behold in the tent.
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life and lo
Sarah thy wife shall have a son.
And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age and it ceased to be with Sarah after
the manner of women.
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying, after I am waxed old shall I have pleasure
my Lord being old also.
By the way her Lord that she's referring to is her husband.
And the Bible tells in the New Testament that's the same way that women should think of their
husband according to 1 Peter chapter 3.
And that's a whole other sermon of itself that shall be preached at another time.
It says, you know, is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the time appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life and Sarah shall
have a son.
Did you notice that at the beginning of verse 13?
And the Lord, do you see that?
The Lord said unto Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh?
So who's talking to him?
I mean these three men are there.
She laughs and the Lord says to Abraham, why did she laugh?
And she says, oh, I didn't laugh and he's like, uh, yeah, you laughed.
And it said, you know, I laughed not, but in verse 16 it says, and the men rose up from
thence and looked towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.
And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
He's obviously speaking to the other two men.
The Lord speaks to the other two men and says, shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed in him for I know him that he will command his children
and his household after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and
judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him.
And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their sin
is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according
to the cry of it which has come unto me and if not, I will know.
And the men turned their faces from thence and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood
yet before the Lord.
So notice three men showed up and have talked and eaten with Abraham.
The Lord is the one who's doing the talking.
Then it says the men go their way and head off towards Sodom and he remains yet before
the Lord.
So he's still in front of one person, the Lord.
How many guys just left?
Okay go to chapter 19 verse 1.
Just a few verses later when we get to chapter 19 verse 1 it says, and there came two angels
to Sodom at even and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom and Lot seeing them rose up to meet
them and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.
So it becomes extremely obvious here who those two men that were with the Lord were.
Two angels.
Because two men walk away and then a few verses later, he goes up to Sodom.
Two men.
You say well it says two angels.
Right, but the two angels are referred to by the Sodomites as what?
Bring out the men which came in unto you.
Because these guys to the outward appearance just look like normal men.
So when Abraham looks, he sees three men walking toward him.
Two of those men walk away.
Those two men walk into Sodom.
We know that they're angels that were with the Lord.
So this proves as we see this that the Lord was literally in bodily form talking with
Abraham.
He had a couple of angels with him that are sent down to Sodom, but he was bodily physically
there talking with Abraham.
And think about this.
It couldn't have been God the Father.
It could not have been God the Father and I'll prove that to you.
Go to John chapter 1.
We're going to look at a few scriptures on this.
We're going to go to John 1 and then next we're going to go to Exodus 33 if you want
to get your finger in both places.
This you say well that's not Jesus.
That's not the son of God.
That's not Christ.
That is, you know, God the Father perhaps.
Well let's look at it.
In John chapter 1 verse 1 it says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and
the word was God.
You say well how can the word be with God and be God at the same time?
Well there's your three and one.
In the sense of the three he was with God and in the sense of the one he was God.
It says that the same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him.
Talking about the word or Jesus Christ.
And without him was not anything made that was made.
Of course verse 14 and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
We beheld his glory.
The glory is of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.
But look at verse 18.
Here's the key.
No man hath seen God at any time.
The only begotten son which is in the bosom of the Father he hath declared him.
The son who yes he is God but he's not God the Father.
Nobody has seen God the Father is what this is teaching.
Only the son is what they've seen.
So could this statement really be made if God the Father walked up to Abraham?
No way.
It wouldn't make any sense.
Go to Exodus 33 where I had you turn verse 18 it says and he said I beseech thee show
me thy glory.
This is Moses talking.
And he said make all my goodness pass before thee and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom
I will show mercy.
Verse 20 of chapter 33 and he said thou canst not see my face for there shall no man see
me and live.
And the Lord said behold there's a place by me and thou shalt stand upon a rock and it
shall come to pass while my glory passeth by that I will put thee in a cliff of the
rock and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by and I will take away mine hand and
thou shalt see my back parts but my face shall not be seen.
This would make no sense if God the Father had appeared unto Abraham in Genesis 18.
It had to be the son.
Go to 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 22.
Actually just go to 1 Corinthians 15 I'll read for you from Revelation 22.
I just want to prove this further that seeing God's face and living is not something that
mortal man can do.
There shall no man see my face and live he said.
He also talked about the fact that no man had seen God at any time.
Now Revelation 22 3 it says there shall be no more curse but the throne of God and of
the Lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him and they shall see his face and
his name shall be in their foreheads.
So in Revelation 22 after the millennium which is in the new heaven and the new earth God
makes this statement they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Why is that significant?
I mean we've earned Jesus Christ's face the moment that we're caught up in the clouds
with him we're going to see him at that point.
We're going to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
We're going to be ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years.
So why would it be significant in the new heaven and new earth to see his face?
Because it's talking about seeing God the Father's face at that time.
Look at 1 Corinthians it says in verse number 22 for as in Adam all die even so in Christ
shall all be made alive but every man in his own order Christ the firstfruits after Christ
is coming then cometh the end.
So this is the order of the resurrection.
The firstfruits of the resurrection was Jesus Christ.
He was the firstfruits of the resurrection he's the firstfruits of the dead.
Afterward they that are Christ said is coming that's the resurrection at the rapture the
dead in Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air so shall we ever be with the Lord.
That's what that's referring to that's the first resurrection.
So there's the firstfruits of Jesus one guy.
Then there's the first resurrection and by the way if you read Revelation 20 it's clear
who's included in that first resurrection.
People who did not worship the beast neither his image neither received his mark and therefore
it are in their hands and he said this is the first resurrection and then it says the
rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
Okay let's look at that resurrection of 1 Corinthians 15 it says then cometh the end
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the father when he shall have
put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign meaning Jesus must reign
till he hath put all enemies under his feet the last enemy that shall be deployed is dead.
So what we see here is that after Jesus has reigned and after the final victory over death
then the kingdom will be delivered up from Jesus to the father it says and there will
be a resurrection at that time that's the second resurrection because remember it said
the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished.
So when the thousand years are finished the rest of the dead live again.
That's not the unsaved the unsaved will never live again.
The Bible says I saw the dead small and great stand before God.
Notice they're not living again are they?
No they're the dead standing before God and the dead were judged out of the things written
in the books.
No the rest of the dead who live again are people who got saved after the rapture or
were born after the rapture.
They didn't go up in the first resurrection they're going to go up in the second resurrection
after the millennium the rest of the dead from there on out.
Now it talks about you know blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth
talking about the fact that you know there are going to be more that die.
But why are we in this passage?
And by the way there aren't seven raptures as these pre-tribbers will try to tell you.
Three raptures seven.
This is the resurrection.
This is the order.
Jesus Christ first resurrection at Christ coming.
Did you notice that afterward they that are Christ that is coming then the end which is
after the millennium.
Those are the only resurrections that the Bible records here of talking about a resurrection
unto immortality.
Yeah there were people in the Bible who came back to life Lazarus but died again.
You know this is talking about being resurrected unto immortality Jesus was the first one.
So what we see here in verse twenty eight is key and when all things shall be subdued
under him unto him then shall the son also be himself be subject unto him that put all
things under him that God may be all in all.
Now does that jive with this Jesus only movement teaching that there's no distinction between
the father and the son.
If there is no three that are one if there is no Trinity if there's no distinction between
the son and the father then how can Jesus deliver up the kingdom unto the father and
then he himself be subject unto the father.
There is a distinction and this does not take away from the deity of Jesus Christ whatsoever
because in the beginning was the word the word was with God the word was God.
No question about the deity of Christ the word was God Jesus is God but there is a distinction
between the father the son and the Holy Ghost just like there is a distinction between body
soul and spirit.
That's what the Bible teaches.
So in this passage the Jesus only doctrine is laid to rest and it shall not be resurrected
ever again but go back to Genesis chapter fourteen if you would Genesis chapter fourteen.
So all that was to say this when did the Bible say that the kingdom will be delivered from
Jesus unto the father after the millennium and when do we look upon the face of God in
the father after the millennium.
See how it's all consistent it all fits together perfectly.
That proves that in Genesis eighteen we had a bodily appearance of the Lord and since
we know it wasn't the father we know it wasn't the Holy Spirit because he ate and drank.
It was none other than the second of the Godhead the son of God the word of God that appeared
unto him.
It was Jesus it was the Old Testament parents of Jesus and by the way tell that to these
bunch of sodomites that tell you oh Jesus never Jesus never condemned being a homo.
Have you heard that one?
Well what did Jesus say?
And look this whole sermon is so important to help us understand the deity of Christ
because if Jesus is appearing in the Old Testament and he's making statements this should get
us off this weird doctrine that says only the red letters matter.
Have you heard this?
The Catholics will do this to you.
And you say hey turn to Romans oh I don't care what Paul wrote what did Jesus say?
That's what the Catholics will say.
Tell me what Jesus said and then you'll try to tell these God hating communist liberals
you know hey what did the Bible say about homeless well yeah but what did Jesus say
about it?
Jesus is the word and anything in the Old Testament is also the mind of Christ not just
what we see in the red letters the whole thing should be in red letters.
I'm going to come out with a red letter edition the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in red
is just the whole thing just all red.
Why not?
It's the truth and I'm not against red letter Bibles they are handy to find stuff I'm not
against I'm just saying don't let those red letters go to your head and take them too
seriously.
So what we see here is Jesus Christ was the original person in the Bible who condemned
homosexuality.
He was the first one to realize he said we're going to go down and destroy it that was Jesus.
So again these people are out to lunch that say well Jesus wouldn't condemn it he already
did he's the one who sent them to go destroy Sodom he sent them.
But anyway if you understand the deity of Christ and if you understand the fact that
Christ appeared in the Old Testament you understand that the God of the Old Testament is the same
as the God of the New Testament and then the whole Bible becomes your authority not just
part of the Bible the whole Bible I believe the whole Bible I believe the Old Testament
I believe all of it it's all God's Word it's all it's all Jesus.
The Word made flesh his name is Jesus but look at Genesis 14 here's another Old Testament
appearance of Jesus it says in Genesis 14 18 and Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth
bread and wine and he was the priest of the Most High God and he blessed him and said
blessed be Abram of the Most High God possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be the Most
High God which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand and he gave him tithes of all
and the king Abram give and take the goods to thyself and Abram said to the king of Sodom
I have lift up my hand unto the Lord the Most High God the possessor of heaven and earth
that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet not take anything that is thine
lest thou shouldst say I have made Abram rich and on and on.
Go to Hebrews chapter number seven you say well Pastor Anderson on what authority are
you saying that Melchizedek is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ I mean that's Melchizedek
that's not Jesus but what does the Bible say in Hebrews chapter seven verse one first of
all in Genesis 14 it called Melchizedek the priest of the Most High God and the king of
Salem Salem would later be known as Jerusalem alright and so he's called the king of Salem
and he's the priest of the Most High God of course we know that Jesus Christ is our high
priest after the order of Melchizedek but you say well but it's not the same person
here's why I believe it is because in Hebrews chapter seven verse one it says for this Melchizedek
king of Salem priest of the Most High God who met Abraham returning from the slaughter
of the kings and blessed him to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all first being
by interpretation king of righteousness and after that also king of Salem which is king
of peace notice we're on the same sentence verse three without father without mother
without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like unto the
son of God abided a priest continually how could that statement be made about Melchizedek
if he was not an Old Testament appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ how could you say
he's without father he's without mother he's without descent how would that make any sense
about any human being and where's Melchizedek and the rest of you no mention just without
father without mother without descent having neither beginning of days who does this sound
like no beginning of days no end of life but made like unto a son of God abideth a priest
continually saying he's still the priest today whoever Melchizedek is let's keep reading
now consider how great this man was unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth
of the spoils and verily they that are of the sons of Levi who received the office of
the priesthood have a commandment today tithes of the people according to the law that is
of their brethren though they come out of the loins of Abraham but he was descent is
not counted from them talking about Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham and blessed him
that had the promises and without all contradiction the less is blessed for here men that die
receive tithes but there he receiveth them of whom it is witnessed that he liveth where
is it witnessed that he liveth well it's witnessed that Christ liveth the son of God liveth there
witnesses to that and it says and as I may so say Levi also who receiveth tithes paid
tithes in Abraham for he was father when Melchizedek met him now some people might disagree and
say well I don't think that Melchizedek was literally Jesus Christ and that's okay if
you disagree with that one it's not okay if you disagree with Genesis 18 because that
one's crystal clear all right but this one some people could legitimately say hey I don't
think it's the same person but I strongly believe that Melchizedek was literally Jesus
from studying this passage in Hebrew 7 because who else would have no beginning of days be
greater than Abraham and so on and so forth everything that it states here and the fact
that he seems to still be receiving tithes and still is a priest continually forever
and so forth so that's why I believe that that is an instance of Christ so go if you
would to Genesis 32 so the first mention that we talked about was we talked about Daniel
3 25 there's no doubt about that being a reference to Jesus because it says the son of God Genesis
18 leaves absolutely when he appeared before Abraham the Lord in bodily form Genesis 14
I believe is clearly an Old Testament appearance of Christ some people could debate that and
in Genesis 32 we have another one that is debatable in people's minds but again I am
fully convinced that this was an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ but it says in
Genesis 32 verse 24 and Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the
breaking of the day so at this point we just know it was a man and when he saw that he
prevailed not against him he touched the hollow of his thigh and the hollow of Jacob's thigh
was out of joint as he wrestled with him and he said let me go for the day breaketh and
he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me and he said unto him what is thy
name and he said Jacob and he said thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel for
as a prince has thou power with God and with men and has prevailed and Jacob asked him
and said tell me I pray thee thy name and he said wherefore is it that thou didst ask
my name and he blessed him there and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for I
have seen God face to face and my life is preserved so again some people would interpret
some people would say that Jacob was wrong here but in order to fully understand this
let's go to Hosea 12 because you've often heard of this story referred to as Jacob wrestling
the angel haven't you now did it say angel in Genesis 32 no but where that comes from
is when this is referenced in Hosea 12 the word angel is used look at Hosea chapter 12
verse 2 it says the Lord hath also a controversy with Judah and will punish Jacob according
to his ways according to his doings will he recompense him he took his brother by the
heel in the womb and by his strength he had power with God yea he had power over the angel
and prevailed he wept and made supplication unto him he found him in Bethel and there
he spake with us now the there he spake with us reminds me of other times in the Bible
when God refers to himself as us for example when he says let us in Genesis 1 let us make
man in our image and after our likeness Genesis 3 the man is become like unto us Genesis 11
let us go down and confound their language and so on and so forth here it talks about
him wrestling the angel and in the context of that it says there he spake with us as
the Lord speaking this is Hosea chapter 12 verse 4 Hosea 12 4 so again this one some
people would say hey it was just an angel of the Lord Jacob believed that it was God
himself and again this passage could lead you to believe that as well but you say well
wait a minute Pastor Anderson if it says it's an angel case closed can't be Jesus but here's
the thing about it I'm going to show you now a couple of appearances of the Lord Jesus
in the Old Testament where he is called the angel of the Lord and I'm going to show you
why I believe these are references to an Old Testament appearance of Christ go to Joshua
chapter 5 Joshua chapter 5 actually I'm sorry he's not referred to as an angel in this one
but he is in the next one okay but let's let's make a stop in Joshua 5 on our way to Judges
6 to be efficient about your page turning okay so let's go to Joshua chapter 5 verse
13 watch this appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament it says and it came to pass verse
13 of Joshua 5 and it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes
and looked and behold there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand
and Joshua went unto him and said unto him art thou for us or for our adversaries and
he said nay now I love that answer because that wasn't one of the choices he says you
know and you got to put yourself in Joshua's shoes Joshua is about to start invading the
promised land this is the first battle Jericho it's the first city in a long campaign of
you know about seven years of conquering the promised land and he comes up and he's been
planning everything and they're getting it and he sees a man coming toward him with a
sword drawn one guy sword drawn and so Joshua wants to figure out is this guy an enemy is
this guy so he says are you for us or are you for our enemies and he just says no I'm
not for you you're for me is basically what he tells him I'm not on your side you're on
my side because he says this no but as the captain of the host of the Lord am I now come
he said no I'm actually in charge I'm the leader I'm the captain and of course this
is emphasizing the fact that when the children of Israel conquered the promised land was
through the power of the Lord he brought them in to the promised land and by the way it
says in Acts 7 he brought them in with Jesus into the promised land go to Acts chapter
7 let me show you that Acts chapter number 7 and it's interesting how Joshua is a picture
of Jesus also just symbolically because of the fact that the Old Testament name Joshua
is the New Testament name Jesus it's the same name but look at Acts chapter 7 when it talks
about them going into the promised land and I didn't have this in my notes somebody help
me out what verse it's in I'm just looking for it right now let's see there's Moses it's
got to be shortly thereafter here we go verse 45 it says which also our fathers that came
after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles whom God drove out before
the face of our fathers unto the days of David so when it talks about them going into
the promised land it says they did it with Jesus now there's kind of a double meaning
there because when you see the word Jesus there the name Joshua is also brought into
the New Testament as Jesus in Hebrews 4 because all Old Testament names go through a little
bit of a transformation or most of them do when they come into the Greek right because
for example the Old Testament Elijah becomes what in the New Testament Elias Old Testament
Elisha becomes Elisias all right Hosea becomes Ozy Noah becomes Noe and on and on we could
go with all the differences in names as they're brought into the New Testament you know Boaz
becomes Boaz slight difference there so it's kind of a double meaning here because it says
they went in with Jesus you can interpret that as talking about Moses now we're talking
about Joshua or you can interpret it as they went in with Jesus because Jesus was the captain
of the Lord's host but if you're reading the NIV they'll just they'll just figure it out
for you because they just change it to Joshua that way you don't have to think too hard
or anything so you know you can just be a be a fool and read the NIV but anyway so back
in Joshua 5 you say well how do you know it was Jesus well look at it in Joshua 5 there
it says nay but as the captain of the host of the Lord am I now come and Joshua fell
on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him what saith my Lord unto his
servant and the captain the Lord's host said don't worship me I'm not God is that what
he said no but other people have said that haven't they where they say hey don't worship
me but he didn't he accepted the worship and look what his answer is when he says what
says my Lord unto his servant and the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua loose
thy shoe from off thy foot for the place where on thou standest is holy and Joshua did so
look that's just like when Moses is before the Lord at the burning bush and the shoes
come off when he's before the captain of the Lord's host he worships him and the shoes
come off look Jesus is even called the captain of our salvation in the book of Hebrews that
God made the captain of our salvation perfect through sufferings so Jesus is known as the
captain of salvation here he's the captain of the Lord's host he's the Lord of hosts
go to Judges chapter 6 these are really interesting aren't they it's really a fascinating study
in the Old Testament and it helps drive in the teaching of the deity of Christ it helps
drive in that the the doctrine of the Trinity it helps really strengthen our understanding
that all of God's Word is associated with Jesus and that Jesus is the theme of the Bible
from Genesis to Revelation mostly figuratively in the Old Testament but here are some places
where he literally shows up bodily Judges 6 verse 11 it says there came an angel of
the Lord now at this point we don't know that this is Jesus it just says an angel of the
Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah and don't pronounce that Oprah alright Ophrah
that pertaineth to Joash the Ebayezrite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine
press to hide it from the Midianites you know he's probably going to get in trouble for
tax evasion but anyway verse 12 and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto
him the Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valor so the angel of the Lord says the
Lord is with thee thou mighty man of valor keep reading and Gideon said unto him O my
Lord if the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us and where be all his miracles
which our fathers told us of saying did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt but now the
Lord had forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites and the Lord looked
upon him and said go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites have not I sent thee who looked upon him and said go in this thy might verse
14 the Lord looked upon him verse 15 and he said unto him O my Lord wherewith shall
I save Israel and notice by the way the difference between the Lord in all caps and the lower
case Lord lower case Lord is just Lord as in boss sir the upper case is a name the Lord
and it says he said unto him O my Lord wherewith shall I save Israel behold my family is poor
and menasty and I am the least in my father's house and the Lord said unto him surely I
will be with thee and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man and he said unto him
if now I have found grace in thy sight then show me a sign that thou talkest with me and
let's first take a time jump down to verse 22 and when Gideon perceived that he was an
angel of the Lord Gideon said alas O Lord God for because I've seen an angel of the
Lord face to face so he's scared that he saw an angel of the Lord but the Bible the narration
told us that it was the Lord who looked upon him and talked with him saying go in this
thy might so just to summarize the ones that we looked at tonight because we we only looked
at six there there are other places that we could have turned but these are I feel the
key six or that the six that stand out the most we saw the fiery furnace which I say
there's no debate unless you're reading one of these goofed up versions no debate on Daniel
3 25 Genesis 18 absolutely no debate case closed there's no doubt then there was Genesis
14 which some people could take exception with Melchizedek I say it was it was definitely
Jesus but some people could have doubts about that one and I could see where they're coming
from Jacob wrestling with the man until the break of day yeah you know I would put that
in the one where there's a you know there could be some doubt in people's mind on that
one and then you know the appearance unto Joshua no debate put off your shoes from off
your feet he's the captain of the Lord's host he's worshiping him and so on and so forth
and then the Gideon story I think it's crystal clear but again some people might not agree
so look we looked at six tonight but really three of them there's no way around it so
the doctrine is there because even if only one of these was for sure you'd have to acknowledge
the doctrine of Jesus appearing in the Old Testament and you'd have to acknowledge the
doctrine of Jesus being the Lord Jehovah it's the deity of Christ so so even if you throw
out half of them that you might be shaken and again let me make my position clear I
believe all six of these are a clear reference to an Old Testament appearance of Christ but
even if you were to be really skeptical and throw out the three that you doubt you still
have those three that you can't escape and and by the way when Jesus appeared unto Jacob
and wrestled with him that is the first MMA fight in the history of mankind it's funny
I actually literally put picked up a book I picked up a book about MMA fighting which
stands for mixed martial arts I picked up a book one time about mixed martial arts and
I've turned to the second said the history of MMA and it literally said this is a secular
worldly book it said the first MMA fight recorded in history was Jacob in Genesis 32 wrestling
with the man and they literally said because it said he tapped out you know because there's
no there's no holds barred there's no time no rounds and eventually he says I'm not going
to let you go until you bless me you know pretty much you have to say uncle you have
to tap out so again just wanted to point out that key doctrinal point about the first MMA
fight in the history of mankind you know God did all the coolest stuff first you know we
think we come up there's nothing new under the Sun but anyway I hope that this helps
shore you up on some important doctrine and as you're reading your Old Testament going
forward especially the book of Genesis we notice that you know half the source of the
was in Genesis that as you read your Old Testament you'll be looking out for this doctrine and
really this removes all doubt that anybody could have about the Trinity or the deity
of Christ it's so clear once you let these Old Testament appearances really sink in let's
borrow that word of prayer father we thank you so much Lord for the Bible it's such an
amazing book and and we never cease to be amazed and to learn new things Lord and and
thank you so much for giving us the entire Bible in our language we know that there are
some people in this world that do not have the luxury of the full Bible translated perfectly
accurately into their language so that they can read it Lord help us not to take it for
granted but to treasure it study it love it memorize it and enjoy it and in Jesus name
we pray amen