All of the communication after the Fall
All of the communications between God and mankind, after the fall, were through His Son.
“All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face. {PP 366.1}
Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness–the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the host–but it was He who gave the law to Israel. Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone. {PP 366.2}
“After the transgression of Adam, God no longer communicated directly with man; earth was separated, as it were, from the continent of heaven: but Jesus was made our substitute, our surety, that he might bring us back to the Father….” (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, 10th June 1890, ‘Conditions for obtaining eternal riches’)
“The transgression of that law had caused a fearful separation between God and man. To Adam in his innocence was granted communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression, God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels.” (Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, 30th January 1879, ‘The great controversy: The plan of salvation’)
“Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker.” (Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 184, ‘Jacob’s flight and exile’)
Now we know that the Scriptures themselves have come to us through the agency of the Spirit of Christ. Yet the Scriptures are nevertheless the Word of God. In similar fashion the quotes above indicate that the verbal communications that Moses had with the Lord, like how a man hears his friend speaking face to face where actually words spoken by Christ.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend… (Ex 33:11a)
“With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Num 12:8)
And even verbal statements that are from the perspective of the Father, like the giving of the Divine law, were actually spoken by Christ as PP 366.2 informs us. You see it was Christ speaking the Father’s law but He spoke it from the Father’s perspective. I believe this same thing is true regarding the statement in Exodus 23.
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. (Exodus 23:2–23)
This is clearly the Father’s perspective – “I send an Angel before thee… Beware of Him and obey His voice….for My Name is in Him…Mine Angel….” yet the Person speaking this is Christ. He is functioning here as the Word, God’s thought made audible.
“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:9-11
“After the fall, Christ became Adam’s instructor. He acted in God’s stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of mediator between God and man.” (Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times. 29th May 1901, ‘God’s purpose for us’, see also Letter 91 1900)
“After the transgression of Adam, God no longer communicated directly with man; earth was separated, as it were, from the continent of heaven: but Jesus was made our substitute, our surety, that he might bring us back to the Father….” (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, 10th June 1890, ‘Conditions for obtaining eternal riches’)
“The transgression of that law had caused a fearful separation between God and man. To Adam in his innocence was granted communion, direct, free, and happy, with his Maker. After his transgression, God would communicate to man only through Christ and angels.” (Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, 30th January 1879, ‘The great controversy: The plan of salvation’)
“Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker.” (Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 184, ‘Jacob’s flight and exile’)
