Read Genesis 18 at Bible Gateway.
And YHVH appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him. Gen 18:1-2a
And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before YHVH. Gen 18:22
Three men came to Abraham, but then two of the “men” went toward Sodom, while YHVH remained behind and talked with Abraham. What happened to the third man?
He who appeared to Abraham in the form of the third man was YHVH, according to the text. When YHVH, or the Angel of YHVH, appears in human form, it is a pre-incarnate appearance of Messiah Yeshua (Gen 16:7-8, 16:13).
We know, because “no man has seen God at any time,” even Abraham, yet it is “the only begotten Son, who … has declared Him,” (Joh 1:18).
Some say that YHVH and Yeshua are two distinct beings, but we are seeing the Bible Compare them to each other as if they were the same.
Why This Matters: Allowing Scripture to teach us about God and His nature, from the Plain Meaning of the Text, preserves truth, which is vitally important as it is Satan, the liar and the father of lies (Joh 8:44) who uses lies to steal, kill, and destroy (Joh 10:10). We don’t want to dip our toes into that dangerous pool!
This Hebrew paragraph extends into the next chapter, so stay tuned for its resolution.
Gen 18:1-19:38 {s} …
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Theophanies in the Old Testament – Answers in Genesis
Is Jesus God? – Answers in Genesis
The Deity of Yeshua – Natan Lawrence
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