Many people belonging to different nations of the world and cultures have always wondered who God is. Have people seen him? Namely, who saw God? And so on. Scripture, the Bible, says that God cannot be seen. But at the same time it tells about the personalities who saw Him.
Concept of god
First of all, it is important to understand and clarify one simple truth: who is God? The answer here is not so simple. The Bible says that it is a Person who is more powerful and perfect than that. God is the Pure Spirit, Creator of heaven and earth, Lawgiver and Creator. Unlike other earthly creations, He has no boundaries, and therefore there is nothing impossible for Him.
The main characteristics of the Almighty in more detail:
- love;
- perfection;
- originality;
- absolute independence;
- above all earthly conditions;
- ubiquity;
- immeasurability;
- eternity;
- omnipotence;
- omnipotence.
In some sacred sources, the concept of God is replaced by the Higher Mind, the Divine Plan, which also takes place. But most importantly, His particle is in every person living on Earth. And it is called the Higher Self, or the Human Spirit. It is through this component that people unite with God.
Religion
About 7.5 billion people currently live on planet Earth (on 5 continents, in 197 countries of the world). Each group of countries professes a religion that belongs to one of the world: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. Often this is a certain denomination, which is a component of one of the world, but adapted to a specific people, ethnic settlement, culture. What is most surprising, in each of these three main religions, God is called in his own way: Christ, Allah, Buddha.
And it is also known that in ancient times, some cultures revered natural elements (Water, Fire, Air, Earth), Stars, the Moon, the Sun, idols and more as the Highest Mind. They built temples, worshiped, made sacrifices. Most likely, this was due to a lack of knowledge and a low level of development of people. Due to the fact that this topic is global enough, it is unlikely that it will be possible to consider everything at once. Thus, we can consider God from the point of view of the Christian religion, since it is precisely to this that the Orthodox faith revered by the Russians belongs.
Holy Bible
God in Christianity is a Person possessing such outstanding qualities as love, holiness, mercy, supernatural. That is how He treats his children - people, no matter what, how loving parents accept their child by anyone and unconditionally. Even if some offense is committed, but the person has repented, God forgives and accepts him under his caring wing.
This Person is very vividly and in detail described in the Holy Scriptures - the Bible, which for many centuries was written by people "led by the Holy Spirit." And therefore, we can assume that God for man is to some extent an open book. Without concealing anything or hiding anything, He shows Himself and His miracles to many people at the present time. In the Old Testament times, He was seen by more than eighty righteous people through visions, images, dreams in the form of a superman and angels, as a force or fireproof bush.
Thus, the Lord conveyed to his chosen ones very important information, prophecies, warnings. This concerned both individuals and the whole nation, both the present (that time) and the future.
These are the people who saw God:
- Abraham;
- Jacob;
- Moses;
- Aaron;
- Nadav;
- Aviud;
- Job;
- Isaiah
- Ezekiel
- Daniel;
- Micah and others.
Of each of these righteous prophets, it can be said that their eyes saw God. Let at about different times and eras, but it was what the scripture says.
Abraham and Jacob
They lived on the land of Israel in the XIX-XVII centuries BC, the righteous Abraham and his wife Sarah. They walked before God, led a clean and simple life. And their age has already become old (about a hundred years), but there were no children. Although God foretold that many nations would come from Abraham. The book of Genesis (chapter 18) tells how the Lord once appeared to him, who was sitting by the tent in the oak grove of Mamre. And three men appeared before Abraham, whom he bowed and invited to visit, washed his feet, and fed. And the men asked about his wife, Sarah. But she did not appear to their eyes, but stood at the entrance to the tent and listened to the conversation. And Abraham stood under a tree and communicated with travelers.
Then one of the husbands said that he would be visiting her again with Sarah, and a son would be born by then in their family. This happened after some time (Genesis chapter 21). The son of Isaac was born to Abraham, from whom many nations foretold by the Lord came. After a while, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, saw God face to face when he went to meet his brother Esau. Returning to his native land, he was subjected at night to some struggle with the Force, as if someone was trying to defeat him. But as it later turned out, this someone was the Lord who tested Jacob and told him: “You fought with God, and you will defeat people” (Genesis, chapter 32, verse 28). And he gave a new name to Jacob - Israel. A man spoke with the Lord face to face, and his soul was preserved.
Moses
The outstanding biblical personality of the Old Testament period is Moses. To some extent, one can say that he is one of the few who saw God every day. Because during his forty-year journey through the wilderness with the people of Israel he often communicated with the Lord, who through Moses gave the people information about his future. But the most important were the 10 commandments.
The fate of this outstanding person is unique from infancy. According to the studies of biblical scholars and historians, the approximate time of life and activity of this person on Earth is the 16th-12th centuries BC. The name Moses in translation means "saved from the water." He was born into an Israeli family. His people, including relatives, were under the yoke of Egypt. And the then ruler, Pharaoh, gave the decree to kill all the infant boys, so that the number of Israelis would not become too many.
Then his Israeli mother, alarmed by such a sad fate for her son, hid little Moses in a basket and let go swimming along the Nile River. By the will of God, the child discovered the daughter of Pharaoh. Soon she adopted him and raised him with her son. Already in adulthood, Moses, having learned the secret of his origin, began to observe that his people continue to oppress and keep in slavish conditions.
Having committed the assassination of an Egyptian caretaker, he hides in the land of the Midianites. It is here that the Lord first appears before him in the form of a fire-resistant shrub. Hearing his mission to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, Moses returns again to Egypt.
After long requests and refusals from his brother Pharaoh, after pointing at the Egyptians 10 executions, the people were released. But the Egyptian troops still chased after them. And then the greatest miracle happened - the waters of the Red Sea parted, and the Israelites, as if along a corridor, passed through it. And the soldiers of the pharaoh died. After 40 years of traveling through the desert, Moses managed to bring the people to the land of Canaan and soon die.
The Bible describes the case when he, as well as Brother Aaron, Nadab, Abiud, and the 70 elders of Israel, offering burnt offerings, saw the living God. Under His feet was something of sapphire stone. And His hands were extended to the elect. They saw, ate, and drank (Exodus, chapter 24).
Job
The Bible also tells of the righteous Job, who lived in ancient times. He was a rich and noble man. Job's happy family had no need. But once God decided to allow all the misfortunes and sufferings that could only befall a person to come to him: devastation, death of loved ones, illness. Job's wife advised him to curse the Lord and die. But he still endured the test. As a result, when the righteous completely despaired, the Almighty again turned his eyes to him and blessed him and gave even more than what was before. And the book of Job, chapter 42, tells us that the righteous man heard God through the ear, and his eyes now see Him.
Prophet Isaiah
700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the holy prophet Isaiah, who was from a royal family, lived on Earth. He received true Christian education. He began to prophesy after he saw God. It happened in the year of the death of King Uzziah. And it was Isaiah's knowledge that the Lord was sitting on a grand throne, and the edges of His robe filled the whole temple. He was surrounded by seraphim with six wings (Isaiah, chapter 6).
Thus, the Prophet Isaiah became a chosen person - the one who saw God. He prophesied under the kings of Joatham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh for 60 years. Had a gift to work miracles. In adulthood, Isaiah married a pious girl, also possessing the gift of prophecy.
Prophet Ezekiel
Around the 7th-6th centuries BC, such a clergyman lived. The name Ezekiel in translation means "God is strong." During his lifetime, Jerusalem was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar (VI century BC), and the prophet himself was captured. Settled in Tel Aviv, got married. And his house became a true haven and comfort for the expelled Jews, where Ezekiel preached about God. 5 years after the prophet was captured, he had a revelation and a vision. It was as if heaven had opened where he saw God sitting on a throne made of sapphire. And metal burned, and fire, and radiance, and a rainbow around Him (Ezekiel, chapter 1).
Great Prophet Daniel
This is another chosen one of God who lived in the 7th-6th centuries BC, who is a descendant of a noble family of Jews. He fell into the Babylonian captivity. As an able student, he ended up in a Babylonian prisoner school and received a Chaldean education. He served at the court of Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian kingdom, and then Cyrus and Darius in the Persian. The prophet Daniel had a gift in a dream to see God and interpret visions. For about seventy years he was a sage and chief adviser to the rulers.
And there was a divine revelation to the prophet (Daniel, chapter 10) that he sees a husband in linen clothes, belted with gold. His body is like topaz, and his face is like lightning. Eyes are like burning lamps. And arms and legs are shining copper. And the voice, as if speaking a lot of people. And only the prophet Daniel saw this, but the people standing with him did not. They only felt fear and ran away. And the husband spoke with trembling Daniel and predicted future events. Most likely, God himself appeared to him in this way. Because He was always invisible with the prophet and invariably answered all his prayers and requests for help. And he protected. His miraculous salvation in the den of lions made King Darius and all living in every area of his kingdom believe in the Lord as in a living God.
Prophet Micah
A contemporary of Isaiah lived in Judea in the 8th century BC. He is considered a small prophet. He served under the rulers of Hezekiah and Manasseh. The book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 18, says that the prophet saw God sitting on the throne, and his army stood to his right and left. The name Micah means "who is like God." This prophet predicted the destruction of Judea, urged people to change for the better, and also spoke of the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus Christ - the visible image of God
But the most obvious, visible and by many people seen image of the Lord is His Only Begotten Son. There is such a verse in the Bible (Epistle from John, chapter 17, verse 3): "This is Eternal Life, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Also, the book of Matthew, chapter 17, verse 5, states that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, in whom is his good pleasure. The qualities of the Messiah are akin to those of the Heavenly Father. His kindness, mercy, forgiveness, generosity, wisdom, insight, generosity and so on - all this is the embodiment of God Himself on Earth.
And the fact that Jesus came to people to show what the Father is is also speaks of the Lord's tremendous love for man, which literally permeates all of Scripture, from the book of Genesis to the Revelation of John the Evangelist. And it can be argued that Christ is the one who sees God every day. And the heart of the Son is the same as the heart of the Father.
About the people of our time
Thus, the moment was clarified a little how and where people who lived in the Old Testament times saw God. Well, about His Son, everything becomes clear from the words of Jesus: “I and the Father are one” (John, chapter 10, verse 30). In the present era, there is hardly a person who can literally say the words: "I see God every day." Nevertheless, the Lord is a Spiritual Person.
But at the same time, His creations and deeds are visible: a huge and beautiful Universe, stars, planets, seas and oceans, trees and birds, man. Be that as it may, we are also created in the image and likeness of God. And there is even such an expression that every person we meet in life is “the Lord in disguise”.
God in songs and poetry
Modernity also glorifies the Almighty with songs and poems. One Christian musical group called Pilgrim has a song that repeats these words: “I see God every day.” She became a real hit. And this is not surprising, because in it it is sung that a person (if he wants this) can really see the Creator in the morning, only by opening his eyes. And everywhere He is: “and in the hearts,” “and on earth, as in heaven,” “and in a farewell cry of a crane ...”. And the great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov very often in his philosophical and lyrical works sang the Lord in His works or asked him:
“... And I can comprehend happiness on earth
and in heaven I see God. "