Many skeptics and cultists have compared this verse with verse 11, which says Moses saw God “face to face” (also see Gen 32:30; Deut. 5:4). It is, they say, a contradiction. However, some passages in the Bible are not meant to be taken literally, including the expression “face to face.” This figuratively means that God spoke “directly” and “openly” with Moses (Nu 12:8). Otherwise we would be required to interpret a passage such as Ps. 91:4 to mean that God has wings and feathers. Or we would have to say that Jesus is made up of yeast and flour based on John 6:35. We must also understand that the Father (the first person in the Trinity) is spirit and is therefore invisible (John 1:18; 1 Tim 1:17). Yet God allowed Himself to take on bodily form in the Old Testament. Many scholars believe that Jesus, who became the Christ when He took on a human body (John 1:1,14), personally appeared to some in the Old Testament as the preincarnate Angel of God.

For other passages discussing common passages used by Latter-day Saints, click here.

See Rob Bowman’s take on an offsite blog by clicking here.