Interesting Theology-Jesus in the Old Testament

I'm reading an interesting book, "Shocked by the Bible". He makes some interesting observations; such as 'God the Father' isn't in the Old Testament. The opening to John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." This means that Christ is the Word, that God spoke creation into existence, and from then he spoke through the living Word, Christ. What that means is that Christ is cosmic, existing through all time. What that means is that Jesus was alive and working in the Old Testament.

I've read at least a couple hundred books of theology and church history, and I never picked up on this. It was Jesus in the Old Testament that Moses, Jacob, Abraham and all the other Patriarchs and others were seeing and talking too, not God. There are verses, which I'll refer to later, that support that no one saw God in the Old Testament, or ever. My Jewish friends will of course not accept this, and rightfully so. Jesus is not recognized as the Messiah by them.

Jesus at the Beginning. Verse 3 of John: "All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made." He's talking here about the Word, Christ. Paul shores this up in Colossians, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him".

Jesus says in John, 5:46-47: "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writing, how will you believe My words?" It's pretty clear he's saying he's spoken to Moses.

No one has ever seen God. John again: "No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart: he has told us about him." "And the Father himself, which who sent Me (Jesus speaking), has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." 1 John 4:12 "No man has seen God at any time".

John is saying, and Jesus is confirming, that no one, ever, has seen God. So who was everybody seeing in the Old Testament?

When Abram had his name changed by God to Abraham, he was walking with someone, he was not having a vision. Abraham went to Sarah and had her fix dinner and had a calf prepared too. They sat around under a tree and dined. Jesus has said, remember, that no man has ever seen God.

I just find this mind boggling. That it was Jesus that was walking with and talking to all those people in the Old Testament. It fits right in with Jesus being the Word, and the Word is living, through all time.

Just something to ponder.