A Christophany is an appearance or non-physical manifestation of Christ. Traditionally the term refers to visions of Christ after his ascension, such as the bright light of the Damascus Christophany. Also, following the example of Justin Martyr who identified the Angel of the Lord with the Logos, some appearances of angels in the Hebrew Bible are also identified by some Christians as preincarnate appearances of Christ.
Etymology
The etymology is from the Greek and the Greek ending "phany", coming from the verb φαίνομαι, which means to appear, to make oneself visible, to be revealed, to come into light. This noun is derived by direct comparison with the term theophany.
Usage
popularised the term in relation to the identification of angels in the Old Testament as Christ. The term was used by Albert Joseph Edmunds in relation to the revealing of Christ in Christianity and Buddhism. Since the work of James Borland usage of the term in conservative Christian publications related to Old Testament appearances of Christ has multiplied exponentially.
Claimed examples of Christophanies in the Hebrew Bible
was regarded by most Church Fathers and medieval commentators as an appearance by the Logos, or pre-existent Christ, and in art God was always given the features of Jesus until about 1400. A popular Christian understanding of the relationship between Melchizedek and Jesus is that Melchizedek is an Old Testament Christophany. Romanos the Melodist interpreted the figure with whom Abraham spoke in Genesis 18:1–8 as being Christ himself. J. Douglas MacMillan suggests that angel with whom Jacob wrestles is a "pre-incarnation appearance of Christ in the form of a man." Some church fathers such as Origen and later theologians such as Martin Luther believed another example is the "Man" who appears to Joshua, and identifies himself as "the commander of the army of the LORD.". The standard argument that this was in fact Christ is that he accepted Joshua's prostrate worship, whereas angels refuse such worship ; see Revelation. 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; see. Jewish commentators reading the same text do not accept that this figure was Christ, but rather the Archangel Michael. Jonathan Edwards identified an example in Daniel, when the fourth man in the furnace is described as “… and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" or "like a son of the gods." The "Suffering servant", from the Book of Isaiah is believed by many Christians to be Jesus. The vision of Isaiah may be regarded as a Christophany. It appears to have been seen as such by John the evangelist, who, following a quote from this chapter, adds 'Isaiah said this because he saw His glory and spoke of Him'..
