Many people from different peoples of the world and cultures have at all times wondered who God is. Have people seen him? Namely, who has seen God? And so on. In the Holy Scriptures, the Bible, it is said that it is impossible to see God. But at the same time, it tells about the personalities who saw Him.
The concept of God
First of all, it is important to understand and clarify one simple truth: who is God? It is not so easy to answer here. The Bible says that this is a Person, more powerful and perfect than which there is none. God is the purest Spirit, Creator of heaven and earth, Legislator and Creator. Unlike other earthly creatures, He has no boundaries, and therefore nothing is impossible for Him.
The main characteristics of the Almighty in more detail:
- love;
- perfection;
- identity;
- absolute independence;
- above all earthly conditions;
- omnipresence;
- immeasurable;
- eternity;
- omnipotence;
- omnipotence.
In some sacred sources, the conceptGod is replaced by the Higher Mind, the Divine Plan, which also takes place. But the most important thing is that 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 connect with God.
Religion
On the planet Earth currently lives about 7.5 billion people (on 5 continents, in 197 countries). Each group of countries professes a religion that belongs to one of the world's: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. Often this is a certain confession, which is a component of one of the world's, but adapted to a specific people, ethnic settlement, culture. What is most surprising, in each of these three major religions, God is called in its own way: Christ, Allah, Buddha.
And it is also known that in ancient times, some cultures revered the natural elements (Water, Fire, Air, Earth), Stars, Moon, Sun, idols and more as the Supreme Mind. They built temples, worshiped them, made sacrifices. Most likely, this happened due to a lack of knowledge and a low level of human development. Due to the fact that this topic is quite global, it is unlikely that it will be possible to consider everything at once. Thus, one can consider God from the point of view of the Christian religion, since the Orthodox faith, revered by Russians, belongs to it.
Holy Scripture
God in Christianity is a Person with such outstanding qualities as love, holiness, mercy, supernatural. This is how he treats children.to their people, no matter what, like loving parents accept their child by anyone and unconditionally. Even if some offense is committed, but the person repents, God forgives and takes him under his caring wing.
This Person is very clearly and in detail said in the Holy Scripture - the Bible, which for many centuries was written by people "led by the Holy Spirit." Therefore, we can assume that God for man is to some extent an open book. Without concealing or hiding anything, He shows Himself and His miracles to many people at the present time. In 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 power or a fireproof bush.
Thus the Lord conveyed very important information, prophecies, warnings to his chosen ones. This concerned both individuals and the whole people, both the present (of that time) and the future.
These people who saw God:
- Abraham;
- Jacob;
- Moses;
- Aaron;
- Pressure;
- Aviud;
- Job;
- Isaiah;
- Ezekiel;
- Daniel;
- Micah and others.
Each of these righteous prophets can be said to have seen God with their eyes. Let about at different times and eras, but it was what the Holy Scriptures say.
Abraham and Jacob
The righteous Abraham and his wife Sarah lived on the land of Israel in the XIX-XVII centuries BC. They walked before God, led a pure and simple life. And their age is alreadybecame advanced (about a hundred years old), but had no children. Although God foretold that many nations would go from Abraham. In the book of Genesis (chapter 18) it is told how the Lord once appeared to him, sitting at the tent in the oak forest of Mamre. And three men appeared before Abraham, whom he bowed to and invited to visit, washed his feet, fed. And the men asked about their wife, Sarah. But she did not show herself to their eyes, but stood at the entrance to the tent and listened to the conversation. And Abraham stood under the tree and talked with the travelers.
Then one of the husbands said that he would be visiting them again with Sarah, and a son would be born by that time in their family. This happened after some time (Genesis, chapter 21). Abraham's son Isaac was born, from whom the multitude of nations predicted 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 overcome him. But as it turned out later, this someone was the Lord, who tested Jacob and told him: “You fought with God, and you will overcome men” (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 figure of the Old Testament period is Moses. To some extent, we can say about him 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 withThe Lord, who through Moses gave the people information about their 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 the 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 his relatives, were under the yoke of Egypt. And the then ruler, Pharaoh, gave a decree to kill all the baby boys so that the number of Israelites would not become too large.
Then his Israelite mother, alarmed by such a sad fate for her son, hid little Moses in a basket and let him float on the waters of the Nile River. By the will of God, the daughter of the pharaoh discovered the child. 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 be oppressed and kept in slave conditions.
After killing the Egyptian overseer, he hides in the land of the Midianites. It is here that the Lord appears to him for the first time in the form of a non-burning bush. After hearing his mission to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, Moses returns to Egypt again.
After long requests and refusals from his brother, Pharaoh, after pointing 10 plagues at the Egyptians, the people were released. But the Egyptian troops still pursued them. And then the greatest miracle happened - the waters of the Red Sea parted, and the Israelis, as if along the corridor,passed through it. And the soldiers of the pharaoh died. After 40 years of travel in the desert, Moses managed to bring the people to the land of Canaan and soon died.
The Bible describes a case when he, as well as brother Aaron, Nadav, Abihu and 70 elders of Israel, offering burnt offerings, saw the living God. Under His feet was something made of sapphire stone. And His hands were outstretched to the elect. Seen, ate and drank (Exodus, chapter 24).
Job
Even in the Bible it is told about the righteous Job, who lived in ancient times. He was a rich and noble man. Job's happy family needed nothing. But one day God decided to allow all the misfortunes and sufferings that can 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 ordeal. As a result, when the righteous man completely despaired, the Almighty again turned his gaze on him and blessed him and gave him even more than what was before. And in the book of Job, chapter 42, it is told that the righteous man heard God with the hearing of the ear, and his eyes now see Him.
Prophet Isaiah
700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the holy prophet Isaiah lived on Earth, who by origin was from a royal family. He received a true Christian upbringing. He began to prophesy after he saw God. It happened in the year of the death of King Uzziah. And Isaiah knew that the Lord was sitting on a majestic 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 the chosen man-the one who saw God. He prophesied under the kings Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh for 60 years. He had the gift to work miracles. In adulthood, Isaiah married a pious girl who also had the gift of prophecy.
Prophet Ezekiel
Approximately in the 7th-6th centuries BC, such a clergyman lived. Ezekiel's name means "mighty God". 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 real shelter and consolation for the exiled Jews, where Ezekiel preached about God. 5 years after the prophet was taken captive, he had a revelation and a vision. As if the heavens opened up, where he saw God sitting on a throne 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 a capable student, he ended up in a Babylonian school for captives and received a Chaldean education. He served at the court of Nebuchadnezzar in the Babylonian kingdom, and then Cyrus and Darius - in Persian. The prophet Daniel had the gift of seeing God in dreams and interpreting 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 man in a linen garment, girded with gold. His body is like a topaz, and his face islike lightning. Eyes are like burning lamps. And the arms and legs are shining brass. And the voice, as if talking to a lot of people. And only the prophet Daniel saw this, and the people standing with him did not. They just got scared and ran away. And the husband spoke with the trembling Daniel and predicted future events. Most likely, God himself appeared to him in this way. Because He was always with the prophet invisibly and invariably answered all his prayers and requests for help. And also protected. His miraculous salvation in the lions' den made King Darius and all living in every area of his kingdom believe in the Lord as the living God.
Prophet Micah
He lived in Judea in the VIII century BC, a contemporary of Isaiah. He is considered a minor prophet. Served under the rulers of Hezekiah and Manasseh. In 2 Chronicles chapter 18, it says that the prophet saw God sitting on a throne, and His army stood to His right and left. The name Micah in translation means "who is like God." This prophet predicted the destruction of Judea, urged the people to change for the better, and also spoke of the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus Christ is the visible image of God
But the most obvious, visible and seen image of the Lord by many people is His Only Begotten Son. There is a verse in the Bible (John chapter 17, verse 3): "And this is Eternal Life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Also in the book of Matthew, chapter 17, verse 5, it is said that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, in whom He is well pleased. The qualities of the Messiah are akin to the qualities 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 - this also speaks of the Lord's great love for man, which literally permeates the entire Holy Scripture, from the book of Genesis to the Revelation of St. John the Theologian. It can also 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 became a little clearer, 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” (from 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." After all, the Lord is a Spiritual Person.
But at the same time, His creations and deeds are visible: the vast and beautiful Universe, stars, planets, seas and oceans, trees and birds, man. Whatever it was, but 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. A Christian music 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 it sings that a person (if he wants this)can really see the Creator from the very morning, only by opening his eyes. And He is everywhere: “and in hearts”, “and on earth, as in heaven”, “and in the farewell cry of a crane …”. And the great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov very often in his philosophical and lyrical works sang of the Lord in His creations or asked Him:
"…And happiness I can comprehend on earthand in heaven I see God."
