A more clear cut and consolidated version of this subject, and continuing discussion, can be accessed at this link.
Please direct responses there.
http://islamchristianforum.com/index.php?topic=2358.0Mohammed's followers sometimes try to claim they adhere to some sort of "faith of Abraham" as though Abraham started his own "religion". Yet they don't even bother to learn about Abraham other than what they have been taught through Islamic so-called "tradition", that was all created and put to the pen in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, that masquerades as thousands of years of historical record. But if Mohammed's followers would simply read about Abraham it might clear up one of their most difficult misconceptions. That being their rejecting that God manifest, or revealed Himself in the flesh of Jesus Christ, because they reject that YHWH can do so. This even though they believe that Mary conceived Jesus by the direct will of God, and this even though they would claim that all God would have to do is say "be" and He could reveal Himself in any manner that He so chose. But I'm sure we would all agree that it's silly to suggest that God would even need to say "be".
So let's look at the first time that YHWH manifest Himself in the flesh of a man, when He revealed Himself that way to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18.
Genesis 18:1
And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;Checking Strong's definitions
And the LORDOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
03068
Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw'}
from 01961; TWOT - 484a; n pr dei
AV - LORD 6510, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; 6519
Jehovah = "the existing One"1) the proper name of the one true God
1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136
The "existing One" that is YHWH the "I AM" - that is God appeared to Abraham.
2
And he lift up his eyes 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, We see three "men" stood by him.
menOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
0582 'enowsh {en-oshe'}
from 0605; TWOT - 136a; n m
AV - man 520, certain 10, husbands 3, some 3, merchantmen 2,
persons 2, misc 24; 564
1)
man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a)
of an individual1b)
men (collective)1c) man, mankind
So Abraham bowed himself toward the ground .....
3
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:My Lord
Old Testament Hebrew Definition:
0136 '
Adonay {ad-o-noy'}
am emphatic form of 0113; TWOT - 27b; n m
AV - Lord 431, lord 2, God 1; 434
1) my lord, lord
1a) of men
1b) of God
2)
Lord - title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverenceBefore the Jews surrendered to a much later doctrine in which men decided that the name Yahweh was too sacred to say or write, the tetragrammaton YHWH occurred in this spot before it was replaced with their later substitute title "Adonay".
The NAME of God - YHWH - generally said "Yahweh" occurs nearly 7,000 times in older versions of their scriptures prior to this pop-doctrine.
Some suggest that these three "men" were angels. But who can doubt that Abraham believed he was speaking directly to YHWH based on the context? Are we to believe Abraham thought himself a "servant" of an angel rather than YHWH, particularly in light of all the direct contact Abraham had with Yahweh? Of course not. Abraham knew who he was a servant of.
4
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.Abraham not only fetches some water so these MEN can wash their feet, but Abraham offers the men food, and they accept his offer.
8
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.And so these MEN - one being YHWH Himself - did dine!
22
And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? So who had the power to destroy a city of men?
24
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Who was the "MAN", that Abraham called Yahweh, that acts as the "Judge of all the earth"?
26
And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.Who had the power and authority to spare Sodom? Some random angel? The answer is again obvious.
Those of us that recognize the co-existence of YHWH and His Messiah Yeshua, as well as other "Christophanies" or appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, realize that this "man" that Abraham met was in all likelihood Yeshua. YHWH's ONE mediator.
1Timothy 2:5
For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;From the foundation of the world
Hbr 9:26
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.Let's look at the term "angel" in context as used four chapters later.
Genesis 22:11
And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.Does that verse indicate the angel is in the form of a man? At Abraham's doorstep? Where's he calling out from? The heavens, or from overhead. Whether in the Old Testament or the New, angels are messengers.
And the angelOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
04397
mal'ak {mal-awk'}
from an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; TWOT - 1068a; n m
AV - angel 111, messenger 98, ambassadors 4, variant 1; 214
1)
messenger, representative1a) messenger
1b) angel
1c)
the theophanic angelIn the verse we see the angel, or messenger, is "of" the Lord, so we see two entities.
of the LORDOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
03068 Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw'}
from 01961; TWOT - 484a; n pr dei
AV - LORD 6510, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; 6519
Jehovah = "the existing One"1) the proper name of the one true God
1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136
Now look at the verse again and notice the definite article "the" before angel indicating very a unique and specific "messenger". Look at Stong's definition above again and we find "the theophanic angel". When the term "the angel of the Lord" is used in the Old Testament it is generally understood by Christians to be a Christophany or appearance of Yeshua - the Messiah - Jesus Christ. This phrase occurs 58 times in the KJV. You can Google the term
"Christophany" or the phrase
"the angel of the Lord" or
"the theophanic angel" to learn more.
Exdodus 3:2
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.
6 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. The angel of the LORD declared in this passage that He is God.
We see that "the angel of the Lord" is OF God just as the Spirit of God is OF God.
Jesus is God.
Yet when Muslims reject the Sonship of the Messiah, as He was also
prophesied in the Old Testament, they often do it through blasphemous declarations in which they assign to God what He can and can't do. They declare these limitations on God solely because they are compelled to put God in a box the size that ONE illiterate 7th century SW Arabian desert dweller could conceive, and by Mohammed they reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ as well as the blood that would save them. The world is setting up for the greatest tragedy in the history of mankind.
