Has anyone ever seen God himself? The Bible seems to both affirm and deny this.

In Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho (written c. 155-61), Justin claims that the “God” seen in any Old Testament theophany was not the one God, the Creator (i.e. the Father), but was instead another “God” – the pre-human Jesus. In his view, it is impossible that God himself be seen. Thus, for instance, the prophet Isaiah (pictured here) must have seen Jesus, not God (in the vision described in Isaiah 6).

But why couldn’t an omnipotent being in some sense appear to humans? And what does the Bible say? Can we read it as consistent about whether or not God can be seen? In this episode we hear from Moses, John, Paul, a psalmist, and the author of the letter to the Hebrews.

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