An important understanding when studying the deity of Christ is recognizing His ongoing presence in the Old Testament. Recognizing that he took over all communication from the Father after the fall is one of the most helpful understandings in this regard, as will be shown in the study that follows. We will discover that Christ refers to Himself with various titles, including Yahweh and Almighty God. We would suggest that Christ is present throughout ALL the Old Testament!
Ellen White states that all communication came through Christ after the fall! In many cases this communication is referred to as coming from the “Lord,” defined as “יְ”הֹוָה Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.”—Strongs Concordance. Sometimes He revealed Himself as “Almighty God.”
"When banished from Paradise, our first parents still worshiped in the fields and groves, and there Christ met them with the gospel of His grace. It was Christ who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre; with Isaac as he went out to pray in the fields at the eventide; with Jacob on the hillside at Bethel; with Moses among the mountains of Midian; and with the boy David as he watched his flocks."
Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”
Exodus 4:2 “And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.”
Exodus 6:3 “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH [YHWH] was I not known to them.”
Joshua 3:7 “And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.”
Joshua 5:14-15 “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”
After the transgression of Adam, the Lord spoke no longer directly with man; the human race was given into the hands of Christ, and all communication came through him to the world. It was Christ who spoke the law on Mount Sinai, and he knew the bearing of all its precepts, the glory and majesty of the law of heaven. In his sermon on the mount, Christ defines the law, and seeks to inculcate on the minds of his hearers the far-reaching claims of the precepts of Jehovah. {RH November 28, 1893, par. 4}
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. {PP 366.1}
"When a prophet or an angel delivered a divine message, his words were, “The Lord [Jehovah] saith, I will do this,” but it is stated of the Person who talked with Gideon, 'The Lord said unto him, I will be with thee.'”
“After the fall, Christ became Adam’s instructor. He acted in God’s stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death.” {ST May 29, 1901, par. 11}
It was under the trees of Eden that the first dwellers on earth had chosen their sanctuary. There Christ had communed with the father of mankind. When banished from Paradise, our first parents still worshiped in the fields and groves, and there Christ met them with the gospel of His grace. It was Christ who spoke with Abraham under the oaks at Mamre; with Isaac as he went out to pray in the fields at the eventide; with Jacob on the hillside at Bethel; with Moses among the mountains of Midian; and with the boy David as he watched his flocks. {DA 290.3}
It was Christ that spoke through Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God. Melchisedec was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. And all through the generations of the past, Christ has spoken; Christ has led his people, and has been the light of the world. {RH February 18, 1890, par. 10}
Two of the heavenly messengers departed, leaving Abraham alone with Him whom he now knew to be the Son of God. And the man of faith pleaded for the inhabitants of Sodom. Once he had saved them by his sword, now he endeavored to save them by prayer. Lot and his household were still dwellers there; and the unselfish love that prompted Abraham to their rescue from the Elamites, now sought to save them, if it were God’s will, from the storm of divine judgment. {PP 139.2}
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. {PP 366.1}
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the patriarchs and prophets, heard the gospel through Christ; they saw the salvation of the race through the substitute and surety, Jesus, the world’s Redeemer. They saw a Saviour to come to the world in human flesh, and communed with him in his divine majesty. Abraham walked and talked with the heavenly angels who came to him in the garb of humanity. Jacob talked with Christ and angels. Moses held converse with Jesus face to face as one who speaketh with a friend. {RH March 2, 1886, par. 8}
For forty years Moses was placed in the wilderness, to learn in the school of poverty, to learn in the walks of humble life, that he was weak, inefficient, helpless. One day he saw a bush ablaze on the mountain, and stood wondering because the bush was not consumed. As he was gazing in astonishment, he heard a voice that seemed to come from the very center of the flame, saying, “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.” {SWk 23.2}
It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, “I AM THAT I AM.... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” Exodus 3:14. This was the pledge of Israel’s deliverance. {DA 24.3}
It was Christ who spoke the law from Sinai. It was Christ who gave the law to Moses, engraven on tables of stone. {RH September 27, 1881, par. 15}
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. {PP 366.2} 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. {PP 366.3}
He who proclaimed the law from Sinai, and delivered to Moses the precepts of the ritual law, is the same that spoke the sermon on the mount. The great principles of love to God, which he set forth as the foundation of the law and the prophets, are only a reiteration of what he had spoken through Moses to the Hebrew people: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” {RH October 17, 1907, par. 11}
Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. He planned the arrangements of the first earthly tabernacle. He gave every specification in regard to the building of Solomon’s temple. He who worked as a carpenter in the village of Nazareth was the heavenly Architect who marked out the plan of the house where His name should be honored. The things of heaven and earth are more directly under Christ’s supervision than many realize. {Ms34-1899.3}
Christ from the pillar of cloud commanded Moses to educate the families of Israel to teach the law of God to their children, that they might teach it to their children and to their children’s children. The Invisible Leader, the mighty General of armies commanded Israel to put the words of the law into song, that as they marched through the wilderness they might sing it, and keep step to the music of their voices and instruments. Thus God showed that His law was not to be forgotten, but retained in their hearts. {Lt90-1898.15}
To Joshua’s challenge, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” the answer was given, “As Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.” The same command given to Moses in Horeb, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy,” revealed the true character of the mysterious stranger. It was Christ, the Exalted One, who stood before the leader of Israel. Awe-stricken, Joshua fell upon his face and worshiped, and heard the assurance, “I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor,” and he received instruction for the capture of the city. {PP 487.3}
Manoah and his wife knew not that the One thus addressing them was Jesus Christ. They looked upon him as the Lord’s messenger, but whether a prophet or an angel, they were at a loss to determine. Wishing to manifest hospitality toward their guest, they entreated him to remain while they should prepare for him a kid. But in their ignorance of his character, they knew not whether to offer it for a burnt-offering or to place it before him as food. {ST September 15, 1881, par. 10}
Gideon desired some token that the one now addressing him was the same that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. The angel had veiled the divine glory of his presence, but it was no other than Christ, the Son of God. When a prophet or an angel delivered a divine message, his words were, “The Lord [Jehovah] saith, I will do this,” but it is stated of the Person who talked with Gideon, “The Lord said unto him, I will be with thee.” {ST June 23, 1881, Art. A, par. 16} … As the gift was presented, the Angel said, “Take the flesh and unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so, and then the Lord gave him the sign which he desired. With the staff in his hand, the Angel touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and a fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the whole as a sacrifice, and not as a hospitable meal; for he was God, and not man. After this token of his divine character, the Angel disappeared. – {ST June 23, 1881 Par. 18} [Jehovah added]