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Revision as of 23:21, 6 January 2006 by Jeffr (talk | contribs) (Style)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A Christophany is an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ in the Old Testament, or after his ascension. (A Christophany is thus a special case of a theophany.) The Bible does not always clearly identify the figure as Christ, for example sometimes using the phrase "the angel of the LORD". Consequently, identification of a given incident as a Christophany, as opposed to a vision of an angel, is a matter of debate among biblical commentators.
(The term "angel of the LORD" is first mentioned in Genesis 16:7 - The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert (New International Version).)
One example is the "man" who appears to Joshua, and identifies Himself as "the commander of the army of the LORD." (Joshua 5:13-15). The standard argument that this was in fact Christ is that He accepted Joshua's prostrate worship, whereas angels refuse such worship; see Revelation 19:9-10. Additionally, He declared the ground to be holy; elsewhere in the Bible, only things or places set aside for God or claimed by Him are called holy. Note that Jewish commentators reading the same text do not accept that this figure was Christ (or even Adonai).
A New Testament Christophany is Paul's vision of Christ on the road to Damascus.
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