In eternity God was alone in all His fullness of Spirit, Light and Life. At the very beginning he stepped into a visible form which is called His image. First He manifested Himself in the spiritual body, as also the angels are spiritual beings, they were made in the same image as Adam.

First the Lord God created the heavens and all that is therein, then the earth and the sea with all that fills them. The angels were always surrounding Him in heaven and on earth. Actually, we only need to follow the footsteps of God’s manifestations to know how He revealed Himself in the Old and the New Testament.

Throughout the Old Testament the Lord God revealed Himself in a visible form. That is how Adam saw Him. He visited Abraham, revealed Himself to Moses, Jacob wrestled with Him, and the prophets saw him on the throne. Thus the Holy Scripture testifies of Him.

Who, for instance, wishes to know to whom God spoke in the Garden of Eden, when He said, “Let us make men in our image, after our likeness …” (Gen. 1:26-27), must read the respective scriptural passages that tell us about the image of God, where the Lord uses the “us” because He was speaking to those present, being in His image.

In Gen. 3:22 the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us …”

In Gen. 11:7 the Lord said, “Go to, let us go down …”

In Isa. 6:8 the Lord is asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

As Paul was asking, “What does the Scripture say?”, we all must do the same and in every case ask, “What does the Scripture say about a subject?” We have to walk in the footsteps of the apostles, believe as they believed, teach what they were teaching, baptise as they were baptising. Without exception, every Bible question can only correctly be answered by the Bible itself.

In Job 38 we are told to whom God indeed spoke in Genesis 1. He asked His servant, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (vv. 4-7). Those present at the creation were the angels and the heavenly hosts. When the Lord came down to give the commandments the angels were also present. The Holy Scripture certainly only knows one Lawgiver. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver …” (Isa. 33:22). But in spite of this truth it is said, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” (Gal. 3:19). “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward …” (Heb. 2:2). It is a fact that the Lord as the Angel of the covenant accompanied by angels came down upon the mountain and gave the law. “This Moses is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give unto us.” (Acts 7:38).

Not only at the beginning of creation and at the giving of the law, but also when the time for redemption came the angels were present. In Lk. 1 the Angel Gabriel first announced the birth of John the Baptist. Then we read, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.” (v. 26). He announced the birth of the Saviour. Then the angel brought the good tidings to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Lk. 2:11-14).

When the Son of God stood the test in the temptation we are told, “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mt. 4:11). In John 20:12 two angels stood in the empty tomb, the one at the head, and the other at the foot end, announcing that the Crucified is risen. All of the Old and the New Testament is marked overwhelmingly with the presence of angels wherever the Lord is.

Whoever reads the Bible right to the Revelation knows about the many reports which testify that God has messengers in heaven and on earth. Wherever He does things in connection with His plan of salvation, the supernatural takes place on earth. John on the Isle of Patmos also expresses the same thoughts, “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” (22:6).

We do see the complete harmony of the Old and the New Testament also in this respect. Accompanied by two angels the Lord God visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18). Into this chapter many wrongly interpret the “three-person-doctrine”. Abraham suddenly saw three men and so the assertion is made that it was the “holy Trinity”. But in reality it was neither a “holy” nor an “unholy” Trinity, it was the Lord with two angels as the record of Scripture testifies.

Abraham served them at the meal, “and they did eat.” (v. 8).

Further we are told, “And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? … And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.” (vv. 9, 10, 13a, 16-17 and 22).

In chapter 19 the two men are again the two angels. “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” (v. 1). The word “angel” means “messenger”.

Then the two angels are again the two men, when the whole city came together at Lot’s house, asking, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (v. 5). Lot implores them not to do harm to his visitors and offers those homosexual evildoers his daughters. He pleads again, “… only unto these men do nothing …” (v. 8).

The essential part is that we once and for all understand that God has been surrounded by angels who have the shape of a man right from the very beginning. The Lord God Himself is about seventy times spoken of as “Angel of the Lord”, as “Angel of God”, as “Angel of the covenant” (Ex. 6; Mal. 3:1; Acts 7:30-38) and as “Angel of His Presence” (Isa. 63:9).

In Gen. 28 Jacob tells us of his supernatural experience with God. He saw a ladder that reached from earth up to heaven. “And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed …” (v. 13).

In Gen. 32 the Lord was not on high, at the end of the ladder, but here on earth, as we find recorded, “… and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. … 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.” (vv. 24-30).

The word “peniel” means “God’s face”. God was so real, present in the form of an angel, that Jacob could embrace him. He wrestled with him as he would with a man, until he received a blow on his thigh. He experienced God personally. The sun rose for him and the old Jacob, which means “supplanter”, became a new Israel, “a fighter with God”.

The Prophet Hosea records the experience Jacob had as follows, “Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us: Even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial.” (12:3-5).

What a glorious description! He wrestled with the angel who at the same time was the Lord, the God of hosts, whose name was Jahweh — the Eternal One.

May we now call Moses to be our next true witness and recall the supernatural experience he had in Ex. 3, “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire … And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” (Ex. 3:2-6).

All three designations are being used for the same person: Angel of the Lord, because He brought a message; Lord, because He is the only potentate; God, because He is the only One to receive all the glory and honour throughout all eternity.

Moses wanted to know the name of God Who had revealed Himself to his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex. 3:14-15).

In Ex. 6 we find recorded, “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JAHWEH was I not known to them.” (vv. 2-3). Before the covenant was made, God revealed His covenant name. The “I am” is “I am JHWH”, so we find the name of the Almighty written in the Hebrew text as a tetragram. From it derives the name Jahweh. In the various Bible translations of the different languages some chose to use the name “Lord”, others used “the Eternal”, and some “Jahweh”. Every time one and the same is meant, whereby it should be emphasised that Jahweh is the revealed covenant name. This also becomes obvious in all names which begin or end with “Jah”. The Lord always introduced Himself as what He is, especially with the seven compound “Jahweh” names, from Jahweh-jireh — “the Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:13-14) to Jahweh-shammah — “the Lord is present” (Ez. 48:35). For God — Elohim even “El” is sufficient. Also with “El” we find the seven expressions of what God is: El Elyon — “the most high God” (Gen. 14:18), El Shaddai — “Almighty God”, El Olam — “everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33) and El Gibbor — “The Mighty God” (Isa. 9:6). As El Shaddai God revealed Himself mainly up to the time of the giving of the law. After that His covenant name Jahweh is commonly used. Immanu-El means “God with us”, Hallelu-jah — “Praise the Lord”, Isa-jah means “Jahweh salvation”, Dani-El — “God is Judge”! “El” always stands for God and “Jah” is without exception connected to Lord.

It is good to know that every one of God’s manifestations since the beginning carries a significance in the plan of salvation. One can easily see the harmony between the Old and the New Testament. The New Testament covenant name Jesus is in the Hebrew language Jah-shua, directly saying Who the One is that should come, namely Jahweh-Saviour, “… for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21). It is to be deeply regretted and unworthy of God that the original meaning of all these designations and the name were not conveyed by the Bible translators. They were people knowledgeable in languages, but that is not sufficient, as we can see. All things are given to us by revelation. The Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God (1. Cor. 2:10-16), and leads us into all truth (Jn. 16:7-15 a. o.), into the hidden mysteries of the divine plan of salvation (Eph. 3:1-5 a. o.).

In eternity God was alone in all His fullness of Spirit, Light and Life. At the very beginning he stepped into a visible form which is called His image. First He manifested Himself in the spiritual body, as also the angels are spiritual beings, they were made in the same image as Adam.

First the Lord God created the heavens and all that is therein, then the earth and the sea with all that fills them. The angels were always surrounding Him in heaven and on earth. Actually, we only need to follow the footsteps of God’s manifestations to know how He revealed Himself in the Old and the New Testament.

Throughout the Old Testament the Lord God revealed Himself in a visible form. That is how Adam saw Him. He visited Abraham, revealed Himself to Moses, Jacob wrestled with Him, and the prophets saw him on the throne. Thus the Holy Scripture testifies of Him.

Who, for instance, wishes to know to whom God spoke in the Garden of Eden, when He said, “Let us make men in our image, after our likeness …” (Gen. 1:26-27), must read the respective scriptural passages that tell us about the image of God, where the Lord uses the “us” because He was speaking to those present, being in His image.

In Gen. 3:22 the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us …”

In Gen. 11:7 the Lord said, “Go to, let us go down …”

In Isa. 6:8 the Lord is asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

As Paul was asking, “What does the Scripture say?”, we all must do the same and in every case ask, “What does the Scripture say about a subject?” We have to walk in the footsteps of the apostles, believe as they believed, teach what they were teaching, baptise as they were baptising. Without exception, every Bible question can only correctly be answered by the Bible itself.

In Job 38 we are told to whom God indeed spoke in Genesis 1. He asked His servant, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (vv. 4-7). Those present at the creation were the angels and the heavenly hosts. When the Lord came down to give the commandments the angels were also present. The Holy Scripture certainly only knows one Lawgiver. “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver …” (Isa. 33:22). But in spite of this truth it is said, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” (Gal. 3:19). “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward …” (Heb. 2:2). It is a fact that the Lord as the Angel of the covenant accompanied by angels came down upon the mountain and gave the law. “This Moses is he that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living oracles to give unto us.” (Acts 7:38).

Not only at the beginning of creation and at the giving of the law, but also when the time for redemption came the angels were present. In Lk. 1 the Angel Gabriel first announced the birth of John the Baptist. Then we read, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.” (v. 26). He announced the birth of the Saviour. Then the angel brought the good tidings to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord … And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Lk. 2:11-14).

When the Son of God stood the test in the temptation we are told, “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Mt. 4:11). In John 20:12 two angels stood in the empty tomb, the one at the head, and the other at the foot end, announcing that the Crucified is risen. All of the Old and the New Testament is marked overwhelmingly with the presence of angels wherever the Lord is.

Whoever reads the Bible right to the Revelation knows about the many reports which testify that God has messengers in heaven and on earth. Wherever He does things in connection with His plan of salvation, the supernatural takes place on earth. John on the Isle of Patmos also expresses the same thoughts, “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” (22:6).

We do see the complete harmony of the Old and the New Testament also in this respect. Accompanied by two angels the Lord God visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18). Into this chapter many wrongly interpret the “three-person-doctrine”. Abraham suddenly saw three men and so the assertion is made that it was the “holy Trinity”. But in reality it was neither a “holy” nor an “unholy” Trinity, it was the Lord with two angels as the record of Scripture testifies.

Abraham served them at the meal, “and they did eat.” (v. 8).

Further we are told, “And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? … And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.” (vv. 9, 10, 13a, 16-17 and 22).

In chapter 19 the two men are again the two angels. “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” (v. 1). The word “angel” means “messenger”.

Then the two angels are again the two men, when the whole city came together at Lot’s house, asking, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (v. 5). Lot implores them not to do harm to his visitors and offers those homosexual evildoers his daughters. He pleads again, “… only unto these men do nothing …” (v. 8).

The essential part is that we once and for all understand that God has been surrounded by angels who have the shape of a man right from the very beginning. The Lord God Himself is about seventy times spoken of as “Angel of the Lord”, as “Angel of God”, as “Angel of the covenant” (Ex. 6; Mal. 3:1; Acts 7:30-38) and as “Angel of His Presence” (Isa. 63:9).

In Gen. 28 Jacob tells us of his supernatural experience with God. He saw a ladder that reached from earth up to heaven. “And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed …” (v. 13).

In Gen. 32 the Lord was not on high, at the end of the ladder, but here on earth, as we find recorded, “… and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. … 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.” (vv. 24-30).

The word “peniel” means “God’s face”. God was so real, present in the form of an angel, that Jacob could embrace him. He wrestled with him as he would with a man, until he received a blow on his thigh. He experienced God personally. The sun rose for him and the old Jacob, which means “supplanter”, became a new Israel, “a fighter with God”.

The Prophet Hosea records the experience Jacob had as follows, “Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us: Even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial.” (12:3-5).

What a glorious description! He wrestled with the angel who at the same time was the Lord, the God of hosts, whose name was Jahweh — the Eternal One.

May we now call Moses to be our next true witness and recall the supernatural experience he had in Ex. 3, “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire … And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” (Ex. 3:2-6).

All three designations are being used for the same person: Angel of the Lord, because He brought a message; Lord, because He is the only potentate; God, because He is the only One to receive all the glory and honour throughout all eternity.

Moses wanted to know the name of God Who had revealed Himself to his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel. I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Ex. 3:14-15).

In Ex. 6 we find recorded, “And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JAHWEH was I not known to them.” (vv. 2-3). Before the covenant was made, God revealed His covenant name. The “I am” is “I am JHWH”, so we find the name of the Almighty written in the Hebrew text as a tetragram. From it derives the name Jahweh. In the various Bible translations of the different languages some chose to use the name “Lord”, others used “the Eternal”, and some “Jahweh”. Every time one and the same is meant, whereby it should be emphasised that Jahweh is the revealed covenant name. This also becomes obvious in all names which begin or end with “Jah”. The Lord always introduced Himself as what He is, especially with the seven compound “Jahweh” names, from Jahweh-jireh — “the Lord will provide” (Gen. 22:13-14) to Jahweh-shammah — “the Lord is present” (Ez. 48:35). For God — Elohim even “El” is sufficient. Also with “El” we find the seven expressions of what God is: El Elyon — “the most high God” (Gen. 14:18), El Shaddai — “Almighty God”, El Olam — “everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33) and El Gibbor — “The Mighty God” (Isa. 9:6). As El Shaddai God revealed Himself mainly up to the time of the giving of the law. After that His covenant name Jahweh is commonly used. Immanu-El means “God with us”, Hallelu-jah — “Praise the Lord”, Isa-jah means “Jahweh salvation”, Dani-El — “God is Judge”! “El” always stands for God and “Jah” is without exception connected to Lord.

It is good to know that every one of God’s manifestations since the beginning carries a significance in the plan of salvation. One can easily see the harmony between the Old and the New Testament. The New Testament covenant name Jesus is in the Hebrew language Jah-shua, directly saying Who the One is that should come, namely Jahweh-Saviour, “… for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21). It is to be deeply regretted and unworthy of God that the original meaning of all these designations and the name were not conveyed by the Bible translators. They were people knowledgeable in languages, but that is not sufficient, as we can see. All things are given to us by revelation. The Spirit of God searches all things, even the deep things of God (1. Cor. 2:10-16), and leads us into all truth (Jn. 16:7-15 a. o.), into the hidden mysteries of the divine plan of salvation (Eph. 3:1-5 a. o.).