- The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
The principle of God’s revelation is shown as follows:
First, God is the source of all revelation. He gives the revelation to Christ, and Christ gives it to His prophets through the agency of His angels, and His prophets then give that revelation to us. This is a universal principle revealed throughout Scripture.
Jacob’s vision
The entire vision is described in Genesis 28:11-17. The principle of God’s revelation is outlined as follows:
- And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
- 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;
Jesus interprets the given vision:
- And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Jesus is represented by the ladder. At the top of the ladder is the LORD (JHVH) - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Scripture is very clear who is represented by this figure:
- The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
"God of Abraham, and of Isac, and of Jacob"
This is the Father, who is at the top of the ladder in Jacob’s vision, the One who “glorified His Son Jesus…“. See God of the Jews
And angels of God are descending and ascending upon that ladder. The linkage between Heaven and Earth is Christ.
- For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The linkage, or mediator between one God (JHVH) and men, is our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of Prophecy confirms:
Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker. Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power. {EGW; PP 184.2; 1890}
Since the fall, no immediate communication could exist between God and man, only through Christ, and God committed to his Son, in a special sense, the case of the fallen race. Christ has undertaken the work of redemption. He purposes to maintain the full honor of God’s law, notwithstanding the human family have transgressed it. He will redeem from its curse all the obedient who will embrace the offer of mercy by accepting the atonement so wonderfully provided. Through his mediatorial work, Christ will fully vindicate the holiness and immutability of his Father’s law. {EGW; RH April 29, 1875, par. 3}
The transgression of that law had caused a fearful separation between God and man. To Adam in his innocence was granted communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression, God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels. {EGW; ST January 30, 1879, par. 19}
Through Christ we have constant communication with the Father. Through this open door we may view the glories of the celestial world, and may estimate the superiority of heavenly attractions as compared with earthly. {EGW; RH January 6, 1891, par. 9}
Let us honor God and His Son, through whom He communicates with the world. {EGW; 8T 238.1; 1904}
Through Christ the communication is opened between God and man. Angels may pass from Heaven to earth with messages of love to fallen man, and to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation. It is through Christ alone that the heavenly messengers minister to men. {EGW; RH August 18, 1874, par. 14}
The Angel of the LORD
In the following passage, pay close attention to who is speaking in the text.
- And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
- And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
- 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.
- And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
- And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, …
- And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
- And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
Initially, it says that the Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses, but the conversation is held between Moses and the LORD (JHVH) Himself. When Stephen was recalling this conversation, he emphasized the role of this Angel.
- And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
- When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
- Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
- Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
- I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
- This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
- He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
- This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
- This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Stephen recalled the events accurately. His emphasis on the role of this Angel of the LORD bore a significant message. Not only did this Angel appear to Moses in the burning bush, but God made Moses a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of this Angel. This Angel was leading Moses and the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, and at mount Sina, Moses spoke with that Angel. Obviously, the Angel of the LORD and the LORD Himself are two distinct personages:
- [Moses recalling the deliverance] And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
Evidently, this Angel was the instrument by which the LORD took the Israelites out of Egypt. But we see that when this Angel speaks, He speaks as if the LORD Himself speaks. The question is, who is this Angel of the LORD, and how to harmonize the discrepancy of the LORD’s speech? Let Exodus 23:20-23 remove every difficulty:
- Behold, I [JHVH speaking] send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
- Beware of him [the angel of the LORD], and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
- But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
- For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
The principle of God's revelation
The LORD (JHVH - the Father) is speaking through the voice of His Angel. His instruction was: “obey His voice, and do all that I speak”. Two distinct and separate personages. The LORD (JHVH) speaks through the voice of this Angel.
Only Christ the Son of God suits the given description, having the name of the LORD. “For my name is in Him”:
- [the Son] Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The Angel of the LORD is Christ. He is not an angelic being, but the only begotten Son of Jehovah. By inheritance, Christ obtained a more excellent name than the angelic beings. Also, Christ is known as the Archangel Michael.
Conclusion
The LORD (JHVH - the Father) was speaking in the Old Testament through the voice of His Son - known as the Angel of the LORD. And Christ was speaking in the first person of the LORD (the Father) Himself.
By Christ (by the angel of the LORD), the Father (the LORD - JHVH) took Israel out of Egypt. In the same way, God communicated with fallen man. The Father (JHVH) was speaking through the voice of His Son (angel of the LORD), and He gave revelation to His prophets (Moses and Aaron), and His prophets gave this revelation to His people.
The Angel of His Presence
Not only did the Angel of the LORD (Christ) represent the Father (JHVH) in speech, but also He represented Him in presence. Take a look at the following text:
- And I [JHVH speaking] will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
- Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
So the LORD (JHVH - the Father) had sent an angel (Numbers 20:16) to take Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the LORD Himself (JHVH - the Father) did “not go up in the midst of” them (Exodus 33:2-3). The one who was physically dwelling with the Israelites was the Angel of the LORD, and not the LORD Himself.
- Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I [JHVH] have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
But the presence of the Angel of the LORD was as if the Father Himself was present with them:
- And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
- And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
- For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
The prophet Isaiah, recalling these events, accurately portrayed this phenomenon:
- In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: …
We see here that the presence of the Angel of the LORD represents the presence of the LORD Himself. The presence of Christ was as the presence of the Father (JHVH’s presence). For this reason, the Father had said “my presence shall go with thee”, while speaking about His Angel - Christ.
This is the reason why the text can say that the LORD took Israel out of Egypt:
- And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
And yet we clearly know that this was Jesus:
- And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
It is not that Christ (the Angel of the LORD) and the LORD Himself are one and the same person; rather, Christ as the Angel of the LORD represents His Father in speech, presence, and actions.
The Spirit of Prophecy confirms:
The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by himself that Christ, his Son, should be equal with himself; so that wherever was the presence of his Son, it was as his own presence. {EGW; 1SP 17.2; 1870}
After the fall, Christ became Adam’s instructor. He acted in God’s stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of mediator between God and man. {EGW; ST May 29, 1901, par. 11}
We see that the Angel of the LORD was Christ, who spoke the LORD’s Words, just as it is written that the LORD (JHVH) redeemed by the hand of the Angel. That Angel was Christ, or the Angel of His (JHVH’s) presence. The Angel in whom the LORD’s name was. The LORD (JHVH), or the Father, never directly communicated with humans, but all communication went through His Son, from the beginning of human fall into sin.
The voice of Christ in the Old Testament
In all these revelations of the divine presence the glory of God was manifested through Christ. Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. Christ was the foundation and center of the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His mediatorial work He may redeem man and vindicate the authority and holiness of the law of God. All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face. {EGW; PP 366.1; 1890}
Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness—the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the host—but it was He who gave the law to Israel. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone. {EGW; PP 366.2; 1890}
It was Christ that spoke to His people through the prophets. The apostle Peter, writing to the Christian church, says that the prophets “prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:10, 11. It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10. {EGW; PP 366.3; 1890}
Christ as the Word of God
- And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
In the New Testament Christ is represented by the Word of God.
Who is Christ?—He is the only begotten Son of the living God. He is to the Father as a word that expresses the thought,—as a thought made audible. Christ is the word of God. Christ said to Philip, “He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.” His words were the echo of God’s words. Christ was the likeness of God, the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person. {EGW; YI June 28, 1894, par. 9}
By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,—God’s thought made audible. {EGW; DA 19.2; 1898}
As speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible God. He is the manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. {EGW; ST November 15, 1899, par. 2}
When Christ spoke, He spoke the words of the Father:
- I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
- And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
The fulfillment of the prophecy was in Jesus:
- For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
- And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
- …the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…
- But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. …
- God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
- Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
The Spirit of Prophecy confirms the principle of God’s revelation:
The whole Bible is a revelation; for all revelation to men comes through Christ, and all centers in Him. God has spoken unto us by His Son, whose we are by creation and by redemption. {EGW; 20LtMs, Ms 129, 1905, par. 2}
Tell our people: “Be not anxious to bring in something not revealed in the Word. Keep close to Christ.” Remember His words, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Verse 20.] He is with us as we teach the words He spoke in the Old Testament as well as in the New. He who gave commandment in the New Testament is the One also who gave the instruction contained in the Old Testament. The Old and the New Testaments are both sacred, for they both contain the words of Christ. All communication from heaven to earth since Adam’s fall has come through Christ. He who believes the instruction contained in the New Testament and in the Old, doing those things which Christ has commanded therein, has the Saviour always with him. {EGW; 15LtMs, Lt 105, 1900, par. 5}
The sin of Adam and Eve caused a fearful separation between God and man. And here Christ steps in between fallen man and God, and says to man, You may yet come to the Father; there is a plan devised through which God can be reconciled to man, and man to God; and through a mediator you can approach God. And here he stands to mediate for you. He is the great High Priest who is pleading in your behalf; and it is for you to come and present your case to the Father through Jesus Christ. Thus you can find access to God; and if you sin your case is not hopeless. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” {EGW; 2T 591.1; 1885}
The Holy Spirit vs. Christ
Did we put ourselves in a contradiction when we conclude by the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy that the revelation of God goes ONLY through Christ? What about the Holy Spirit?
- We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
- Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
- For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Let the Scriptures be their own interpreter, and remove every difficulty:
- Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
- Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
The one who was inspiring the prophets of God was Christ, but more specifically, it was the Spirit of Christ, or the Holy Spirit. The difference is in technicality rather than in identity: all communication between God and men goes through Christ. Sometimes Christ was present physically with His people, as it was the case with Moses and the Israelites, or when Jesus was living His human life with us. But when He was physically dwelling at the right hand of God, still the presence of Christ was manifested through His Spirit.
The Saviour had spoken through all the prophets. “The Spirit of Christ which was in them” “testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:11. {EGW; DA 234.1; 1898}
It was the Spirit of Christ that spoke through Enoch; that Spirit is manifested, not alone in utterances of love, compassion, and entreaty; it is not smooth things only that are spoken by holy men. God puts into the heart and lips of His messengers truths to utter that are keen and cutting as a two-edged sword. {EGW; PP 86.2; 1890}
Caution
We must bear in mind that we do not know what the Holy Spirit is. We don’t know its nature, but certainly, we should know who the Holy Spirit is. Often in Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy, the Holy Spirit is revealed as Christ or the Father, divested from their physical presence. But the Scriptures give us some clues on how God’s transcended presence is manifested. It is through the agency of His angels. Remember the principle of God’s revelation?
The Angels
The holy angels have a special role within the revelation of God:
- I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Remember the principle of God’s revelation. God gives the revelation to His Son, and Christ gives it to angels, and angels give it to His prophets, and to His people. Does this mechanism have anything to do with the technical aspect we discussed about the Holy Spirit? Pay close attention to the following quotations:
The heavenly angels do not undertake the work of preaching the gospel. Through the ministration of angels God sends light to His people, and through His people this light is to be given to the world. The Holy Spirit will guide and instruct men and women if they will show themselves willing to be guided by placing themselves in positions where they can communicate the light received. {EGW; BEcho December 10, 1900, par. 12}
Angels of glory wait to communicate through you heaven’s light and power to souls that are ready to perish. Shall the human agent fail of accomplishing his appointed work? Oh, then to that degree is the world robbed of the promised influence of the Holy Spirit! {EGW; MB 40.2; 1896}
Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, whose base is upon the earth, and whose topmost round reaches the throne of God. Down this ladder streams the glory of God, and on it ascend and descend the angels of heaven to communicate the light and the glory of God, whose train fills the temple, to the lost children of earth. Through Christ heavenly intelligences may communicate with human agents. {EGW; ST April 11, 1895, par. 3}
The Holy Spirit as the Glory of God
There is a correlation between the Glory of God and the Holy Spirit. See holy-spirit-like-dove study.
A measure of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. Through the ministry of the angels the Holy Spirit is enabled to work upon the mind and heart of the human agent, and draw him to Christ who has paid the ransom money for his soul, that the sinner may be rescued from the slavery of sin and Satan. {EGW; 8LtMs, Lt 71, 1893, par. 10}
" Through the ministry of the angels the Holy Spirit is ENABLED TO WORK"
“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us” Deuteronomy 29:29. Some people shy away from the revelation that the work of the Holy Spirit is enabled by holy angels. But this technical aspect is not a mystery nor secret; rather, it has been revealed to us. And it is in harmony with the principle of God’s revelation. For more data on the connection between the Holy Spirit and the angels, see _The Connection between Holy Angels and the Holy Spirit
