There are a few verses from the Hebrew Scriptures to which Arians (as well as Trinitarians) will appeal in support of their theory that Christ pre-existed his life on earth as a celestial being. For example, it’s commonly assumed by Arians (and Trinitarians) that, when God used the plural “us” and “our” in Genesis 1:26-27, he was including Christ (or that Christ himself was the one speaking). Remarking on Genesis 1:26-27, Stephen wrote the following:
“The passage carries with it two considerations: what is the plural “Us” and “Our” in 1:26, and what is the “Image” in 1:27?”
In Genesis 1:26-27 we read the following:
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”
God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.
See also Genesis 9:6, where we find this truth re-affirmed by God.
As I’ve argued in more depth elsewhere (see Who-created-heavens-and-earth-part-one.html), when God used the pronouns “us” and “our” in Genesis 1:26 (as well as in Gen. 3:22 and 11:70), he was speaking to, and on behalf of, the created celestial beings who comprise the “congregation of El” of which we read in Psalm 82 (cf. Psalm 148:1-5). It is these beings who are referred to as “all the sons of Elohim” in Job 38:4-7, and are the beings that we’re told presented themselves before Yahweh in Job 1:6 and 2:1 (for other references to these celestial beings, see Deut. 33:2; Josh 5:13-15; 2 Sam 5:24; 1 Kings 22:19-23; 2 Kings 6:8-17; Jer. 23:18; Dan 7:10; Neh. 9:6). Notice that, in Job 38:4-7, the title “Elohim” (in the expression “sons of Elohim”) refers to a single individual (i.e., one who refers to himself as “I” in v. 4). Although the “sons of Elohim” referred to in v. 7 are clearly multiple beings, the Elohim of whom they are sons is a single individual (i.e., Yahweh Elohim).
The only other example in which we find Yahweh Elohim using a plural pronoun when speaking is in Isaiah 6:1-8 (depending on the translation). And here, we actually find certain members of God’s “heavenly council” prominently in view (see verses 1-3). It is after Isaiah saw Yahweh sitting upon his throne and the Seraphim in his presence that he then heard “the voice of Yahweh saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (v. 8) Isaiah would’ve undoubtedly understood the word “I” to refer to Yahweh himself – i.e., the One sitting on the throne (for a response to the view that the enthroned being was Christ in a pre-existent state, see below). According to this understanding, the word “us” includes both Yahweh himself and the winged, celestial beings that Isaiah saw in Yahweh’s presence (and on whose behalf Yahweh was speaking).
But again, Yahweh (i.e., the “Elohim” of whom the beings referred to in Job 38:7 are referred to as “sons”) is a single divine individual. And it is this divine individual – and not the “sons of Elohim” referred to in Job 37:8 – who we find being referred to as “the Elohim” in the opening verse of Scripture.
Regarding the “image” and “likeness” of which God spoke in Gen. 1:27, this is clearly the image and likeness of God. Both the celestial “sons of Elohim” (to whom God was speaking) and mankind (about whom God was speaking) were created in the image of Yahweh Elohim, and according to his likeness. Thus Paul was able to refer to man in general as being “inherently the image and glory of God” (1 Cor. 11:7), while James was similarly able to refer to humans in general as having “come to be in accord with God’s likeness” (James 3:9). To claim that the “Man, Christ Jesus” – who is “the Image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15) – was the Image of God before God created mankind (and when he spoke the words recorded in Genesis 1:26) is simply to assume the Arian position.
But what does it mean for humankind (as well as celestial beings) to have been created in God’s image, and according to his likeness? One verse that often gets overlooked when this subject is being considered – but which I think provides us with a key insight into the meaning of what’s said in Gen. 1:26-27 – is Genesis 5:1-3:
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.
Notice, first, that we’re told that God created Adam “in the likeness of God.” Earlier, we were told that God created mankind “in” God’s image and “according to” his likeness. Here, the term “likeness” replaces the term “image.” Evidently, these expressions were interchangeable, and expressed the same basic meaning. This is further evident from the fact that Seth is said to have been fathered/begotten “in [Adam’s] likeness, according to his image.” There is no good reason to distinguish between Adam’s “image” and “likeness” here; Moses was simply using a literary device known as “synonymous parallelism” (according to which the same basic idea is, for the sake of emphasis, expressed using two or more different words or expressions).[i]
The “likeness” or “image” in which (or according to which) Adam was made is also God’s image/likeness. It’s also the image/likeness of the celestial beings to whom God was referring when he said “us” and “our.” We know that non-human celestial beings – although normally invisible to humans – have the likeness of humans (Gen. 18:1-19; 19:1-5; Ezekiel 1:5, 8, 10; 40:3; Dan. 8:15-16; 9:21; Mark 16:5; Rev. 21:17; 22:8 etc.). And the very fact that the words “image” and “likeness” in Gen. 1:26-27 imply a visible, personal form/appearance indicates that God himself also has a visible, personal form in which he’s manifesting himself to the celestial beings in heaven (in accord with this fact, we read elsewhere that Yahweh has the likeness of a human; see, for example, Ezekiel 1:25-28 and Dan. 7:9).
In other words, God – the uncreated being at whose right hand Christ is presently sitting (and who created both celestial beings and human beings in his image, and after his likeness) – has a face. As Christ himself declared, there are some messengers in the heavens who “are continually observing the face of [His] Father Who is in the heavens” (Matt. 18:10). And as we read in Hebrews 9:24, Christ “entered…into heaven itself, now to be disclosed to the face of God for our sakes.”
Of course, it’s a widely-held belief among Christians that God himself (i.e., the Father) has no face or personal form/appearance. It’s believed that, because God is referred to as “invisible” in 2 Cor. 4:4 and Col. 1:15, it means he’s invisible in an absolute sense (and thus invisible to every created being, and not just invisible to mortal humans). However, as I’ve argued in more depth elsewhere (Will We Ever See Father?), this assumption isn’t justified. God himself explained his invisibility – i.e., his being unseen (which is the meaning of the word translated “invisible” in Scripture) – in terms of mortal humans being unable to see his face. For in Exodus 33:15-23, Yahweh equated seeing him with seeing his face: “You cannot see my face, for no human shall see me and live.” Since Moses couldn’t see Yahweh’s face, it can be said (in accord with the above statement) that Moses didn’t see Yahweh. And yet, it’s clear that the One whose face Moses couldn’t see had a human-like form and a face. And it’s in the image and likeness of this being (who has a personal form, and whose face can be seen by the celestial beings who have access to his presence in heaven) that both humans and non-human celestial beings were created.
God’s invisibility is thus not absolute. It’s relative. It is to mortal humans that God is inherently invisible/unseen, and not to the celestial beings who have access to his presence in heaven, and who can see his face (and this includes Christ himself). In fact, some Arians who claim to believe that God is invisible in an absolute sense also seem to think that Christ is an exception to this (for they will appeal to Christ’s words in John 6:46 – where we read that Christ “has seen the Father” – in support of their view that Christ pre-existed with the Father in heaven before his life on earth began).
I’m sure Stephen and other Arians would agree that, when Balaam was enabled by God to see the celestial being who was standing in his way (Numbers 22:21-31), this celestial being was invisible to Balaam before Balaam was enabled by God to see him (for another example of someone being enabled to see beings who were otherwise invisible, see 2 Kings 6:15-17). I’m also sure that Stephen and other Arians would agree that the spirits referred to as “demons” in the New Testament are invisible to humans. But that doesn’t mean they’re invisible in an absolute sense. Although they’re inherently invisible to humans, they aren’t invisible to God. And we have no reason to think these beings are invisible to Christ or to each other. The invisibility of such beings is relative, not absolute (and even created spiritual beings who are ordinarily invisible to humans can become, or be made, visible to humans if God wills it).
Moreover – and as I pointed out in the aforementioned article – Paul categorized all created beings as “the visible and the invisible,” and then gave two examples of some of the highest-ranking beings from each category:
1. The visible: “thrones or lordships”
2. The invisible: “sovereignties or authorities”[ii]
Among the created beings who are categorized as “the invisible,” Paul would’ve undoubtedly included both demons and the celestial being who was invisible to Balaam (that is, until God temporarily enabled Balaam to see him). But again, these beings – although inherently invisible to humans – aren’t invisible in an absolute sense. And only those who are assuming that God doesn’t have a personal form and localized appearance in which he’s manifesting himself in heaven to the celestial beings who have access to his presence there would think that God’s invisibility is absolute (rather than relative to mortal humans).
Stephen went on to point out that Genesis 1:27 “does not say, “So Elohim created humanity in the image of many,” or “multiple images.” It says, directly, “created humanity in His Image.”
Correct. There is only one image in which both those to whom God was speaking (the celestial “sons of Elohim”) and those about whom God was speaking (mankind) were created. And that image/likeness is God’s image/likeness. In other words, the one image/likeness in which God created mankind is not the image/likeness of a being who’s distinct from God. What God said is precisely what we’d expect God to have said if both created celestial beings and mankind were created in his image, and according to his likeness.
Stephen went on to claim that “This is the first of many instances in which the Old Testament proclaims Christ as the Image of the invisible God.” If Stephen thinks Genesis 1:26-27 “proclaims” that Christ pre-existed as the Image of God before God created mankind, then he and I have a very different understanding of what it means for Scripture to “proclaim” a certain truth.
Appearances of Yahweh in the Old Testament
A.E. Knoch held to this view as well. In his article “The Image of the Invisible God,” Knoch wrote the following:
“In some cases, however, [God] is represented by His Image. Adam saw God in the garden, Abraham entertained Him in his tent, Moses met Him on the mount, Joshua encountered Him at Jericho. These were literal, tangible, material, visible visits of Him Who is the Image and the Word of God. They actually saw His appearance and heard His voice. This, says our Lord, is not possible of the Father (John 5:37). When Philip wished to be shown the Father, our Lord directed him to Himself. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8-10). Then He goes on to show that He is not only the Image, but the Word of God. “I am not speaking from Myself.” “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” Unsearchable+Riches+Volume+74 (page 8)
Let’s consider this view. In addition to what we read in Genesis 3:8-9 (where we’re told that “Yahweh Elohim” was “walking in the garden in the windy part of the day” and of Adam and Eve hiding from his face (Gen. 3:8-9), we also read of Yahweh appearing to Hagar (Genesis 16:13), Abraham (Genesis 17:1-22; 18), Jacob (Genesis 32:24-30), Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:9-11), Gideon (Judges 6:22-23) and Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:22).
In contrast with Trinitarians, Arians believe (correctly, I think) that the one referred to as “Yahweh” in these and other verses wasn’t actually Yahweh. Rather, the one referred to as “Yahweh” was the authorized, visible representative of Yahweh. But one must already be assuming that Christ pre-existed as a celestial being in order to conclude that the visible representative of Yahweh who appeared to and spoke to humans on these occasions was Christ in a pre-existent state. That is, the only reason one would believe that any non-human celestial being who appeared to and spoke to humans on certain occasions was (or even could’ve been) Christ in a pre-existent state is that one already believes that Christ pre-existed his life on earth as a celestial being. If one isn’t assuming this, then one would have no good reason to think that the being referred to as “Yahweh Elohim” in Genesis 3:8 or 16:3 (for example) was Christ in a pre-existent state. Instead, one would simply conclude that, on these occasions, God simply authorized a celestial being to act and speak on his behalf.
In defense of this understanding, let’s consider the account of Abraham and the three messengers that we find recorded in Genesis 18. In the first three verses of this chapter we read the following:
And appearing to [Abraham] is Yahweh Elohim among the oaks of Mamre. And sitting is he at the opening of the tent at noon, as the day is warm. And lifting is he his eyes and seeing, and behold! Three mortals are stationed by him. And seeing is he and running to meet them from the opening of the tent, and is prostrating to the earth.
It’s evident from what we go on to read that these “three mortals” were actually three celestial messengers sent from Yahweh, and that they represented Yahweh (speaking and acting on his behalf). They’re referred to as “mortals” not because they were mortals, but because they appeared as mortals. That is, they looked like human beings. In reality, they were non-human celestial messengers from Yahweh who were appointed and authorized to say and do what Yahweh sent them to say and do. In verses 16-22 we go on to read the following:
And rising are the mortals thence, and they are gazing on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham is going with them to send them away. And Yahweh says, “Shall I cover from Abraham, My servant, what I am doing, when Abraham shall become, yea become a nation, great and staunch, and blessed in him are all the nations of the earth? For I know him, that, responding, he will instruct his sons and his household after him, and keep will they the way of Yahweh to do justice and judgment, that Yahweh may bring on Abraham all that He speaks concerning him.” And saying is Yahweh, “Seeing that the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is much, and that their sin is exceedingly heavy, descend will I, pray, and see, do they according to all the cry which is coming to Me? And if not, I will know.” And facing thence are the mortals, and they are going to Sodom. And Yahweh still is standing before Abraham.
The words “descend will I” are referring to a topographical descent from a higher elevation to a lower elevation (i.e., from where Abraham was to where Sodom was). We know that Sodom was geographically located near the Dead Sea (the lowest point on the surface of the earth). So to travel to Sodom, one had to “descend” to it. It should also be noted that, even when there was no relative elevation difference between two locations, it was normal to say that someone “went down” to another place. For example, in Genesis 12:10 we read, “And down is Abram going to Egypt to sojourn there” (see also Genesis 26:2; 27:25; 39:1; 42:3).
So after Yahweh declared that he would go down to investigate what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah, we’re told that two of the three “mortals” then left for Sodom. We go on to read the following in Genesis 19:1:
And coming are two of the messengers to Sodom in the evening. And Lot is sitting in the gateway of Sodom. And seeing them is Lot, and rising is he to meet them.
It’s clear that the messenger who said that he would descend to Sodom and Gomorrah was one of the two messengers who then departed for Sodom. But notice that this messenger is referred to as “Yahweh.” And then, even after these two messengers left for Sodom, we go on to read that Yahweh was “still standing before Abraham.” In other words, two of Yahweh’s authorized representatives left for Sodom, but one stayed behind to continue speaking with Abraham.
Based on these considerations we can conclude that all three “mortals” were actually “messengers” from Yahweh, and were also Yahweh’s authorized representatives (who spoke and acted on his behalf). It’s for this reason that they could be referred to as “Yahweh” in the narrative. In fact, not only were they referred to as “Yahweh,” but they were addressed as “Yahweh” as well. In Genesis 19:12-20 we read the following;
And saying are the mortals to Lot, “Still any of yours here, sons-in-law, or your sons or your daughters, all who are yours in the city, bring forth from this place, for ruining are we this place, for great is the cry concerning them before the face of Yahweh, and sending us is Yahweh to wreck it.”
And forth is Lot faring, and is speaking to his sons-in-law, who took his daughters, and is saying. “Rise! Forth from this place, for ruining is Yahweh the city!” And becoming is he as one making fun, in the eyes of his sons-in law.
They are saying also, “Be sure to escape with your soul! You must not look behind you, and you must not stand in any part of the basin. Escape to the mountain, lest you be swept up!”
And saying is Lot to them, “It must not be, pray, Yahweh! Behold, pray! Your servant finds grace in Your eyes, and magnifying are You Your kindness which You do to me in preserving alive my soul.”
The fact that Lot addressed these two messengers as if they were Yahweh himself indicates that he recognized that they were Yahweh’s representatives (i.e., they’d been authorized by Yahweh to act and speak on his behalf).
We go on to read the following in verses 23-25:
The sun comes forth over the earth when Lot comes to Zoar. And Yahweh rains on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulphur and fire from Yahweh, from the heavens. And overturning is He these cities and the entire basin, and all dwelling in the cities and everything sprouting from the ground.
In v. 24, the first occurrence of the name “Yahweh” refers to the two messengers who spoke to Lot, and who declared to him that they were went by Yahweh to “wreck” the city of Sodom (v. 13). Like the messenger who stayed behind to continue speaking to Abraham, they were Yahweh’s representatives. The second occurrence of the name “Yahweh” refers to the One who sent and authorized these messengers to accomplish this judgment (and through whom he thus brought about the ruin of the cities).
We find the same situation involving a messenger of Yahweh speaking as Yahweh’s representative (and being regarded as if he was Yahweh) in Genesis 16:7-13 and Exodus 3:1-15 (cf. Acts 7:30). Consider, also, the record of how Yahweh gave the law to Israel. Hebrews 2:2-3 we read the following:
“For if the word spoken through messengers came to be confirmed, and every transgression and disobedience obtained a fair reward, how shall we escape when neglecting a salvation of such proportions…?”
The “word spoken through messengers” is a reference to the law of Moses. That messengers were involved in the giving of the law is further supported by the words of Stephen as recorded in Acts 7. In v. 38, we read that the one who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai was actually one of God’s messengers (as noted earlier, the same can be said for the being who spoke to Moses from out of the burning bush; see Exodus 3:1-15 and compare with Acts 7:30). We go on to read in v. 53 that Israel had received the law “as ordained by angels” (LSB) or “by decrees given by angels” (NET). Paul confirmed this truth in Galatians 3:15, where he wrote that the law was “prescribed through messengers” (CLNT).
But how do we know that the messengers referred to in these verses were acting as representatives of Yahweh? Answer: Because, in Exodus 19:20, we read that “Yahweh descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.” We go on to read that “Moses went up to Yahweh,” and that “Yahweh” began to speak to him. In Deuteronomy 4:14 we read that Moses declared the following to Israel:
”Moreover, at that same time Yahweh commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land which you are about to enter and possess.”
Since it was through the instrumentality of God’s messengers that God gave the law to Israel, this can only mean that the one referred to as “Yahweh” in verses such as Exodus 19:20 and Deuteronomy 4:14 was one of God’s messengers, acting and speaking on God’s behalf. Evidently, then, a messenger of Yahweh who has been authorized to speak and act on Yahweh’s behalf (and thus function as Yahweh’s representatives/agents) could be referred to as “Yahweh” in the historical narrative.
Who was speaking to Satan?
After quoting Job 1:6 (where we read of both Satan and “the sons of Elohim” stationing themselves before Yahweh), Stephen asked:
“How, if God is invisible (2 Cor. 4:4, Col. 1:15,) are the sons of Elohim stationed around Yahweh? Who is Satan speaking to? How is Satan hearing Yahweh? Surely, you would not tell me that God would have a mere messenger on His throne??”
No, I wouldn’t tell Stephen that “God would have a mere messenger on His throne.” Stephen seems to be assuming that Yahweh wasn’t speaking directly to Satan. But the fact is that God can speak just as directly to his creatures as we can speak to each other. The enthroned being who spoke to Satan (and whose voice Satan heard) is the same divine individual who, in the beginning, said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3; cf. 2 Cor. 4:6, where it’s clear that Paul understood the one who spoke light into existence was God). In other words, the one whose voice was heard by Satan is the same one whose voice was heard when Christ was baptized and transfigured. And whose voice was heard on these occasions? In Matthew 3:16-17 we read the following:
Now, being baptized, Jesus straightway stepped up from the water, and lo! opened up to Him were the heavens, and He perceived the spirit of God descending as if a dove, and coming on Him. And lo! a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I delight.”
There is no good reason to think that the one speaking on this occasion was anyone other than the God and Father of Jesus. Consider also Matthew 17:5 (where we read that God’s voice was heard at the time of Christ’s transfiguration):
While [Peter] is still speaking, lo! a luminous cloud overshadows them, and lo! a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I delight. Hear Him!” And, hearing it, the disciples fall on their faces and were tremendously afraid.
That Peter understood this voice to have been the voice of God himself is evident from what he wrote in his second letter. In 2 Peter 1:16-18 we read the following:
For not by following wisely made myths do we make known to you the power and presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ, but by becoming spectators of His magnificence. For He got from God, the Father, the honor and glory of the voice, being carried to Him in such a way by the Glory Magnifical: “This is My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I delight!” And this voice we hear being carried out of heaven, being together with Him in the holy mountain.
But what about during the time of Israel’s history before Christ’s life on earth began? Well, we know that, at Sinai, God’s voice was heard just as directly and clearly as it was at Christ’s baptism and transfiguration. This is confirmed by what we read in Deut. 4:12, 15. In these verses we read the following:
“Then Yahweh spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice…So keep your souls very carefully, since you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire…”
In Deut. 5:4-5 we read that Moses went on to describe Israel’s encounter with Yahweh at the foot of Mount Sinai as follows:
“Yahweh spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire. I was standing between Yahweh and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Yahweh; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.”
The expression “face to face” is an idiom that refers to direct communication between two individuals (it should be emphasized that speaking “face to face” need not involve sight; two blind people can speak to each other “face to face”). For example, in Exodus 33:7-11 we’re told that, in the tent of meeting, Yahweh would speak privately to Moses “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” In other words, Yahweh spoke to Moses directly (rather than through an intermediary).
As is evident from what we read in Deut. 4:12, 15, we know that Yahweh’s communication with Israel at Horeb did not involve a visual manifestation of Yahweh. It involved only a voice that was heard by Israel. We can thus conclude that, when “Yahweh spoke to [Israel] at Horeb from the midst of the fire,” he spoke to them directly (or “face to face”). And the implication of the verses in which Yahweh is said to have spoken to Israel and to Moses “face to face” is that, on other occasions (perhaps on most other occasions), Yahweh didn’t speak directly to people. Rather, he communicated with people through a representative intermediary.
Now, keeping in mind the fact that it was Yahweh himself – and not a created celestial being representing him – who spoke directly to Israel at Mount Sinai, let’s now consider what Moses declared in Deut. 18:15-19. Here’s how these verses read in the LSB:
“Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of Yahweh your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God; let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ And Yahweh said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it will be that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
We know from what Peter declared in Acts 3:22-23 that the prophet of whom Moses was speaking (and whom Yahweh was going to “raise up” for Israel) is Jesus. We can thus conclude the following: the one who spoke directly to the people of Israel “from the midst of the fire” on mount Sinai (i.e., Yahweh) is distinct from the “prophet like Moses” whom Yahweh promised to raise up for Israel, and in whose mouth Yahweh promised to put his words (i.e., Jesus). They are two distinct beings. Thus, the one whose voice was heard at Mount Sinai “from the midst of the fire” was not “Christ in a pre-existent state.” Rather, the one whose voice was heard at this time (and who promised to put his words in the mouth of his Son, Jesus) was Yahweh himself.
Let’s now consider Stephen’s other questions:
“How, if God is invisible (2 Cor. 4:4, Col. 1:15,) are the sons of Elohim stationed around Yahweh? Who is Satan speaking to? Surely, you would not tell me that God would have a mere messenger on His throne??”
As I stated earlier, I wouldn’t tell Stephen that “God would have a mere messenger on His throne” (for I don’t think that God would have a mere messenger on his throne). The Arian assumes that, if God didn’t have a mere messenger on this throne, then the one sitting on God’s throne must have been Christ in a pre-existent state. But Scripture is clear that the one sitting on Yahweh’s throne is Yahweh himself. That is, the one sitting on Yahweh’s throne is the one who later declared to his Son, “Sit at My right till I should be placing Thine enemies for a footstool for Thy feet” (Psalm 110:1). At whose right is Christ sitting? Who is Christ sitting next to? Answer: Christ is sitting next to Yahweh. So who was sitting on Yahweh’s throne in heaven before Christ ascended to heaven and sat down next to Yahweh? Answer: Yahweh was sitting on his throne.
That is, the throne around which the celestial beings referred to in Job 1-2 were stationed – and at the right hand of which Christ is now sitting – is the throne of the Father himself (and not the throne of someone who is representing him):
Matthew 23:22
“And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”
Hebrews 8:1
“…we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven…”
Hebrews 12:2
“Jesus…is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
But does this mean that the sons of Elohim were stationed around the throne of a being they could hear but not see? No. Stephen is assuming that, because God is referred to as “invisible” in 2 Cor. 4:4 and Col. 1:15, it means he is invisible in an absolute sense, and thus invisible to every created being (and not just invisible to mortal humans). However, as I’ve argued earlier (and in more depth elsewhere: Will We Ever See Father?), this assumption is not warranted. God’s invisibility – i.e., his being unseen (which is the meaning of the word translated “invisible” in Scripture) – is not absolute. It is to mortal humans that God is inherently invisible/unseen, and not to celestial beings who have access to his presence in heaven.
So in response to Stephen’s questions, we have no good reason to think that Yahweh (i.e., the Father) was, in fact, invisible to either Satan or “the sons of Elohim” who we’re told were stationed around him. As Christ himself declared, there are some messengers in the heavens who “are continually observing the face of [His] Father Who is in the heavens” (Matt. 18:10). And as we read in Hebrews 9:24, Christ “entered…into heaven itself, now to be disclosed to the face of God for our sakes.” Does Stephen think that Christ is now seated at the right hand of the throne of someone who represents God? Or that Christ is now being “disclosed to the face” of someone who represents God? No; that’s absurd. The one at whose right hand Christ is seated (and who was sitting on his throne when Christ declared the words of Matt. 23:22) is the Father. The same divine individual at whose right hand Christ is now seated is the divine individual before whom Satan and the sons of God were stationed (i.e., Yahweh).
Just as Christ isn’t at the right hand of the throne of someone who represents God (Heb. 8:1; 12:2) or being “disclosed to the face” of someone who represents God (Heb. 9:24), so Satan and the sons of God weren’t stationed before the throne of someone who represented God. The divine being before whom they were stationed is the same divine being beside whom Christ is presently sitting.
Isaiah 6:1-9
In accord with the Arian’s assumption that Yahweh has never sat on his own throne or spoken to anyone from his own throne, Arians will often claim that the enthroned individual seen by Isaiah was Jesus Christ in a pre-existent state (rather than being a depiction of the Father). In Isaiah 6:1-9 we read the following:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
That the enthroned person seen by Isaiah was a depiction of the Father himself (and not a depiction of someone who represents the Father) is evident from what we find described in two subsequent visions involving this same enthroned person. In Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 we read the following:
I perceived until thrones were situated, and the Transferrer of Days sat down. His clothing was pale as snow, and the hair of His head was like immaculate wool; His throne was flares of flame and its rolling wheels a flashing flame. A stream of flame was flowing and issuing from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand ten thousands stood before Him…
I was perceiving in the visions of the night, and behold, with the clouds of the heavens One like a son of a mortal was arriving; He came unto the Transferrer of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. To Him was granted jurisdiction and esteem and a kingdom, that all the peoples and leagues and language groups shall serve Him; His jurisdiction is an eonian jurisdiction that shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be confined.
There can be no doubt that the enthroned person referred to as “the Transferrer of Days” (or “Ancient of Days”) is meant to be understood as Yahweh, the one God of Daniel and his people (Daniel 9:4, 9, 13). It’s also evident that the person who is described as “One like a son of a mortal” (or “One like a son of mankind”) is the Messiah. He is, in other words, the Lord Jesus Christ, and is clearly distinguished from Yahweh (before whom he is presented, and from whom he receives his jurisdiction, esteem and kingdom).
Similarly, in John’s vision of the heavenly throne room (as found in Revelation 4-5), we read that he saw a single person sitting on a throne:
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in Heaven, with One seated on the throne. And He Who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
As in Isaiah’s vision, this enthroned person is surrounded by winged, flying beings who are described as offering continual praise to the One who is enthroned:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!
Other celestial beings (the twenty-four elders) refer to the one on the throne as their “Lord and God,” who is said to have created all things, and by whose will everything was and is created (4:8, 11).
We read that the one on the throne has a sealed scroll, and when no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth is found worthy to open the scroll and break its seven seals, Jesus Christ appears (who, in the vision, is depicted as a seven-horned, seven eyed Lamb appearing as if it had been slain). We then read that the celestial beings referred to earlier sing the following song to Jesus Christ:
Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
In both Daniel’s and John’s vision, the enthroned person that is seen cannot be understood as a depiction of anyone other than the Father. We can, therefore, reasonably conclude that the enthroned person seen by Isaiah in the vision described in Isaiah 6 is also a depiction of the Father (whose glory and enthroned form – but not, evidently, his face – was seen by Isaiah).
Based on what we read in John 12:37-41, some have argued that Isaiah must’ve seen Jesus Christ in a “pre-existent state.” Here’s the passage as found in the CLNT:
Yet, after His having done so many signs in front of them, they believed not in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet, which he said, may be being fulfilled, “Lord, who believes our tidings? And the arm of the Lord, to whom was it revealed?” Therefore, they could not believe, seeing that Isaiah said again that He has blinded their eyes and callouses their heart, lest they may be perceiving with their eyes, and should be apprehending with their heart, and may be turning about, and I shall be healing them. These things Isaiah said, seeing that he perceived His glory, and speaks concerning Him.
In the first verse that John quotes (i.e., Isaiah 53:1), the “Lord” being referred to is clearly Yahweh (whose name actually appears in the original verse John was quoting). The next verses quoted by John (Isaiah 6:9 10) are a quotation of the words of Yahweh himself, who spoke to Isaiah during the vision described in Isaiah 6 (which involved seeing Yahweh sitting on a throne in the temple). Thus, the person whose glory we’re told that Isaiah saw (and the person concerning whom Isaiah spoke) would’ve undoubtedly been understood by Isaiah to have been Yahweh himself.
That the person being referred to as “His” and “Him” in v. 41 is Yahweh, the God of Israel, is confirmed from the fact that the same person who’s referred to as “Him” in v. 41 is also in view in v. 40:
Isaiah said again that He has blinded their eyes and callouses their heart, lest they may be perceiving with their eyes, and should be apprehending with their heart, and may be turning about, and I shall be healing them.
Who was John referring to as “He” in this verse? Answer: John would have believed that Yahweh himself was ultimately responsible for the circumstances being described in this verse.
That God is ultimately the one responsible for the blinding and callousing of unbelieving Israel is further confirmed from Romans 11:8, where Paul wrote concerning unbelieving Israel:
Now the rest were calloused, even as it is writ ten, “God gives them a spirit of stupor, eyes not to be observing, and ears not to be hearing, till this very day.”
Had Paul believed that Jesus was the one who was callousing Israel, he would have said so. But Paul said it was “God” who was doing this, and the only person who Paul referred to as “God” in his letters – and repeatedly distinguished from the Lord Jesus Christ – is the Father. Thus, it was the Father himself – and not someone distinct from the Father – whose glory Isaiah perceived.
Part five: That Happy Expectation: An Antidote to Arianism: Part five
[i] For some other examples of this literary device being used in the Hebrew Scriptures, see Num. 23:7-10; Job 3:11; 4:9, 17; 8:3, 11, 15; 11:7; 27:4; 32:8 33:4; 34:2, 14-15; 38:7; Psalm 1:5; 2:1, 4, 9; 6:5; 18:4-5; 19:1; 36:6, 9; 38:1; 78:1; 119:105; 120:2; Prov. 1:13-16; 3:1, 11; 12:28; Eccl. 10:18; Isa. 60:1-3; Hab. 1:2.
[ii] We find this view expressed in Volume 19 of Unsearchable Riches (see page 164) as follows:
In Colossians we read of the “creation” of that which is “on the heavens and on the earth...the visible and the invisible.” Now this has reference to the myriads of living beings who populate the heavens and the earth, whether visibly embodied upon the earth or the invisible host—thrones or dominions or sovereignties or authorities among the celestials—on the heavens.
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