Genesis 28:
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. […] 12 He dreamed. Behold, a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed.[…] 16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” 17 He was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
The arrival of the God of Jacob is described in the Bible with quite a bit of excitement and terror! If God were the invisible spirit people believe God to be, then people in the Bible, who thought they were describing God, were wrong. Or, does the invisible nature of God mean something quite different. Could it be figurative?
Ah… You’re probably thinking, “This was only a dream!” Well, let’s look at another account of God arriving:
Exodus 19:
9 Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” […]
16 It happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the lower part of the mountain.
18 Mount Sinai, all of it, smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. 20 Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
This account is from when the descendants/children of Jacob/Israel, who had left Egypt under Moses’ leadership that original Passover, when they finally got to meet their God for the first time — a God who had been invisible to them until now. They had believed in their God purely by folklore and faith for generations until then.
Note that God’s approach is from the sky/heavens (“descended upon” and “came down”) at a time when humans were not able to fly. This is similar to Jacob’s dream, where it is said that God stood and talked with Jacob.
Now, imagine if you looked out today and saw what is described here. Would you think, “God has arrived,” or would you think UFO?
Let’s look at another account of God arriving:
2 Chronicles 7:
1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Yahweh filled the house. 2 The priests could not enter into the house of Yahweh, because the glory of Yahweh filled Yahweh’s house. 3 All the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and the glory of Yahweh was on the house; and they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped, and gave thanks to Yahweh, [saying], “For he is good; for his loving kindness endures for ever.”
Notice similar imagery as at Mt. Sinia; however, this time they describe all the visuals as “the glory of Yahweh.” Is the fire, lightning, and smoke described explicitly in Exodus the same Glory of Yahweh described here?
Here is another account of God arriving:
Ezekiel 1:
1 […] the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. […]
4 As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. 5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. […]
13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. […]
22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. […]
25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; […]
26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.
28 […] Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yehowah […]
Well, this is quite different. This time, we are given a description of what is behind or above the smoke that obscured the view of those in Exodus.
Actually, Ezekiel saw God three times, as noted here:
Ezekiel 43:
2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. 3 And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 4 And the glory of Yehowah came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east […].
These accounts describe a very visible God.
Just my opinion... 