Have you ever had a moment in your life where you believe you may have seen the Lord Almighty in person or Christ, or anybody of the Heavenly Realm?
My Personal Experience
One time, I'm not sure what or who I saw, but what I am cognizant of seeing is this: the entity had the likeness of a person, dressed in a hooded robe, but everything about it was electric/lightning, from outline to substance, from its lips to its clothing, however nothing I would describe as flesh or fabric (even though it had a body, arms, and clothing), everything about the person was just electric/lightning, glowy. I can't tell if the person was male or female; it was androgynous-looking. And the reason I could see its lips was because it was crouching down next to my face, whispering something into my ear. I couldn't tell what the message being communicated was; whatever he/she was whispering sounded like static. And I'm lying there terrified. Then, it stands upright from its leaning down position, moves (I'm expecting the person to walk, but it glides) slowly across the floor, down towards the foot of my bed, then turns left, glides some more towards the window, and exits/flies/elevates out the window. I never saw it again. And I'm just lying there, thinking to myself, “yup, I'm definitely awake and this just happened”.
I personally have not seen visions of God, but I'll provide passages of believers who have, and have given a detailed description of the encounter (notice that, despite these people having lived thousands of years apart, if giving a description of His likeness, they generally give the same description of His exalted state; anyone describing anything different is either: a liar, drawing something out of their own imagination, of what they think He looks like or—giving them the benefit of the doubt—saw some other spirit):
Everything in a spoiler will contain examples from scripture:
Visions of God in His Exalted State
◘ Moses, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders saw God:
Exodus 24:9-11 (NIV)
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
◘ Ezekiel saw visions of God:
Ezekiel 1:22-28 (NIV)
22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,[a] like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Footnotes:
a. Ezekiel 1:24 Hebrew Shaddai
Ezekiel 10:1 (NIV)
10 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.
note: if you want to read Ezekiel's full description, of the four living creatures under God's throne (who apparently are angels/cherubim), with the wheels, and God's glory moving about, open up Ezekiel chapter 1 and chapter 10 [link]. He gives more intricate detail about the four living creatures than anyone else in the bible.
◘ Daniel saw a vision of God (and of Jesus):
Daniel 7:13 (NIV)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
Footnotes:
a. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
Daniel 7:9 (NIV)
9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
note: notice that the Son of Man, in Daniel 7:13, is not the Ancient of Days. They're distinct from each other.
◘ Isaiah saw a vision of God (and of the angels) at His throne:
Isaiah 6:1-8 (NIV)
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
◘ The apostle John saw a vision of God (and of the angels) at His throne:
Revelation 4:2-11 (NIV)
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Footnotes:
a. Revelation 4:5 That is, the sevenfold Spirit b. Revelation 4:8 Isaiah 6:3
note: if you opened up the chapters in Ezekiel, then after reading Revelation 4 you would have seen all of the strong parallels John's vision has to Ezekiel's visions. There are a few contrasts with John's vision, and Ezekiel's two visions themselves aren't identical either, so they definitely witnessed their own visions, at different times, but generally it's a near-identical description.
To compare / contrast:
In Ezekiel 1 there's mention of,
- a great cloud, surrounded by light (v. 4)
- fire flashing forth continually (v. 4)
- four living creatures (v. 5) which have · human-likeness, (v.5) · four faces each: human, lion, ox, eagle (v. 6, 10) · human hands, (v.8) · but calf feet (cow feet?) (v. 7) · gleaming like polished/burnished bronze (v.7) · an appearance like coals of fire, torches of fire moving between them (v. 13) · four wings, two wrapped around their body (v. 6, 23) · the four living creatures darting to and fro looked like flashes of lightning (v. 14) · the sound of their wings like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty,[a] like the tumult of an army (v. 24)
- an expanse of sparkling crystal over the heads of the four living creatures (v. 22) - a sapphire throne-looking-thing above the expanse (v. 26) - someone seated on the throne-like-thing who has "a figure like that of a man " (v. 26) - from the waist up, the appearance of glowing metal, as if full of fire, (v. 27) - below his waist, fire, and a brightness all around him that was like the appearance of a rainbow (v. 27-28)
note: the reason there is a rainbow: God emits light, and he's smack dab in the middle of a cloud [which is made up of water crystals]; light shining through crystals makes a rainbow.
In Ezekiel 10, the notable differences from Ezekiel 1:
- the four living creatures are referred to as "cherubim" now (v. 1) - instead of an ox face, we have a cherub face (the human, lion and eagle are mentioned again, but not the ox) (v. 14) - a man in linen makes an appearance, who wasn't mentioned in Ezekiel 1 (v. 2) - the mention that the whole bodies of the creatures, not just the wheels, are covered with eyes (v. 12)
In Revelation 4, which I quoted above (but you can open up in another window):
the person in Revelation 4 is described as:
- the center of attention (rightfully so—He's God) - sitting on a throne (v. 2) - has the appearance of [jasper] and [ruby] (so a mottled/mix of red, [example]) so red, just like the figure in Ezekiel's vision (v. 3) - as him who lives for ever and ever (which is similar to what we read about Jesus in Revelation 1:18, so you would think that the person in Revelation 4 is Jesus, but we have the Lamb of God entering into the presence of this person on the throne in Revelation 5; so the One in Revelation 4 is the Father; Jesus comes in later) (v. 9) - called Creator by the 24 elders (v. 11) - called the one who was, and is and is to come by the four living creatures (v. 8) [just like Jesus in Rev 1:8, but He [the one in Rev 4:8] is not Jesus because the Lamb who was slain comes into His presence in the following chapter)
His throne is described as:
- having a rainbow around it which had the appearance of an emerald (whether the rainbow is also emitting green light? or is green itself? not sure) (v. 3) - a throne emitting flashes of lightning, rumbles and peals of thunder (v. 5) - having a sea of glass, clear as crystal, in front of it (v. 6) - with seven burning torches of fire in front of it (v. 5) - surrounded by four living creatures (v. 6) - surrounded by 24 other thrones, on which sat 24 elders (v. 10)
The four living creatures are described as:
- the first living creature like a lion, (v. 7) - the second living creature like an ox, (v. 7) - the third living creature with the face of a man, (v. 7) - the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight (v. 7) - each of them with six wings, (v. 8) - covered with eyes all around, even under its wings (v. 8) - day and night they never cease to praise God, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (v. 8)
The 24 elders are described as:
- being dressed in white robes (v. 4) - having crowns of gold on their heads (v. 4) - bowing down in worship whenever the four living creatures praise God, at which point, they cast their crowns at his feet, and praise as well saying,
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (v. 9-11)
In contrast to Ezekiel's visions, the notable differences here to John's vision:
- in John's vision, the four living creatures only have one face each; each one of the four living creatures is described by one animal only; whereas, the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision(s) each have four faces on their head (lion face on the right side, ox face on the left side [or cherub face on the left side], and then, either in the back or the front, each has a man's face on one side and on the remaining side, an eagle's face (see Ezekiel 1:6-11 and Ezekiel 10:14 for descriptions).
- the four living creatures seem to have only four wings in Ezekiel's vision, but have six wings in Isaiah's vision and John's vision.
Ezekiel 1:6-11 (NIV)
6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body.
Ezekiel 10:14 (NIV)
14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
◘ The apostle John saw a vision of Jesus as well:
Revelation 1:12-18 (NIV)
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Footnotes:
a. Revelation 1:13 See Daniel 7:13.
I'll include Revelation 5 so you see that the one sitting on the throne in Revelation 4, who is also mentioned at the start of Revelation 5, is distinct from the Lamb of God (though the slain Lamb now sits on the throne too).
Revelation 5:1-10 (NIV)
5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign[b] on the earth.”
Footnotes:
a. Revelation 5:6 That is, the sevenfold Spirit b. Revelation 5:10 Some manuscripts they reign
The Father in verse 1 does not open the scroll, He merely has the scroll in His hand. Jesus is the one eligible to open it.
◘ Stephen saw God and Jesus:
Acts 7:55-59 (NIV)
55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Visions of Angels in their Exalted State
We get some interesting, detailed descriptions of angels as well:
◘ Daniel gives a detailed description of the angel Gabriel:
note: In the following vision, keep in mind that Daniel had been getting revelation from the angel Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21) prior to this chapter, and that this isn't Jesus despite the similar-sounding description John gave of Jesus in Revelation 1.
Daniel 10:4-16 (NIV)
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
15 While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. 16 Then one who looked like a man[a] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak.
Footnotes:
a. Daniel 10:16 Most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; one manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint Then something that looked like a human hand
So, that encounter left him trembling, afraid.
The verses identifying this man as the angel Gabriel:
Daniel 8:16 (NIV)
16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
Daniel 9:21 (NIV)
21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
◘ David saw an angel who was in mid-air (like Daniel's example that I mentioned above, David as well was afraid):
1 Chronicles 21:16 (NIV)
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
1 Chronicles 21:29-30 (NIV)
29 The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. 30 But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
Elijah and his assistant saw an army of angels in the air (as a comfort in response to the human army coming to battle them):
2 Kings 6:16-17 (NIV)
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
In essence, I'll show you who you should be afraid of—not these humans, lol. And they're on our side.
◘ Balaam, the Gentile prophet, saw God/God's angel.
Numbers 22:31-38 (NIV)
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.[a] 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”
38 “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”
Footnotes:
a. Numbers 22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
◘ John saw visions of many angels (all throughout the Book of Revelation, but to quote one):
Revelation 22:8-9 (NIV)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
As some of these examples show, when you encounter an angel—like Daniel and David did—you'll probably be trembling, terrified, afraid during the experience and even after the fact. They are appearing in their supernatural [beyond the natural] state.
Mundane Appearance
That said, however, there are occasions when the angels—and/or God Himself—comes in the appearance of a human being (so you're not terrified as much). Though, once they do something supernatural, you know this isn't just a regular human being. I'll quote a few examples I've come across in my reading:
◘ God and two angels appeared to Abraham as men (I'll bold the significant verses in the following so you know that it's YHWH and His angels; these are the same two angels who, in the following chapter, later go to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy it):
Genesis 18:1-15 (NIV)
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord,[a] do not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[b] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord b. Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
◘ The two angels (identified as angels, but described as men) appeared to Lot and his family (and were visible to the homosexual men in Sodom, whom also thought the angels were mere men):
Genesis 19:1-2 (NIV)
19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
Genesis 19:10-11 (NIV)
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
Genesis 19:12-13 (NIV)
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
Genesis 19:24 (NIV)
24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.
So, they appeared to be normal men, but then they supernaturally strike a whole group of wicked people blind, and have the power to destroy the city—that's why they were sent. They're not mere men (they later rain down fire and brimstone).
◘ God appeared to Jacob as a man:
Genesis 32:24-31 (NIV)
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c] and he was limping because of his hip.
Footnotes:
a. Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God. b. Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God. c. Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
The supernatural touch was enough to dislocate Jacob's hip, though by physical wrestling He was getting nowhere.
◘ God appeared to Manoah and his wife as a man (again, bolding to note the details; He appears to be a mere man, at first, until He does something supernatural at His departure):
Judges 13:2-23 (NIV)
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
Footnotes:
a. Judges 13:18 Or is wonderful
Strange departure into the sky, this person wasn't a mere human, nor a mere angel, this was God.
◘ In general:
Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)
2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
...like Lot did.
◘ And obviously Jesus, Immanuel (God with us), God's unique incarnation (not in His exalted state) looked like a normal human being.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Footnotes:
a. Philippians 2:6 Or in the form of b. Philippians 2:7 Or the form
Isaiah 53:2 (NIV)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
John 10:33 (NIV)
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Mark 6:1-3 (NIV)
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Footnotes:
a. Mark 6:3 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph
So, whether angels, or God Himself, people may have interacted with heavenly beings and not even known it. They can appear in human likeness. Then, when the entity starts doing supernatural things, it becomes obvious that this isn't a mere human. God and His angels can come “incognito”, so they can actually hold a conversation with people, and not have them run away or fall to the ground in fright.
Presence of God
If you meant, just any feeling of the presence of God, that happens without seeing visions of anyone. When I read my daily chapter, and then things come to pass later that day in ways that I read earlier, thus He was warning me about what I would cross paths with that day, very specific [e.g. it's not every day that you come across a chapter of a brother machinating evil plans against his younger brother by manipulating their mother to make a request of the younger one, and then that same day, in my actual family, a son gets a call from his mother saying, your older brother asked to do such-and-such, do you agree? and then days later you find out, he had ulterior motives against the younger brother, to rob him of his inheritance, just like in the chapter that was read]. Or I ask a question, and then something around me happens in response to it. People all of a sudden visit. Or someone in the next room comes into mine, ignorantly makes a comment that relates to, or answers, something I was thinking in my mind to myself. God is constantly interacting with us, and using His creation to interact with us, we just need eyes to see it. He even speaks through dreams:
Job 33:13-18 (NIV)
13 Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words[a]? 14 For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.[b]
Footnotes:
a. Job 33:13 Or that he does not answer for any of his actions b. Job 33:18 Or from crossing the river
Conclusion
There are many ways to interact with the presence of God. It could be having actual physical interactions with Him or His angels, visions of Him, visions of His angels, or nothing visible in front of your eyes at all (but His invisible hand orchestrating things around you in response to what you say and do).
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:21 pm
There have been quite a few times where I have had a strong sense of peace, normally while doing my devotion. I believe that God was allowing me to feel his presence.
OtakuKat
Moonlight Healer
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Wildear19
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 4:35 pm
not since the day i got saved
Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:41 pm
I don't believe I've ever seen anyone from the heavenly realm but I have felt the profound peace of God's presence. And I still do. Sometimes angels may be among us in human form.
Lady Vizsla
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SARL0
Quotable Dabbler
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 2:09 pm
nope. never seen him physically. i've seen what Christ can do in ppls lives including my own. and i feel his presence every single day with me since the day i got saved. Because the Spirit of God dwells within me.
i pretty much don't believe when ppl claim they've actually seen Jesus or God.
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