A lot of this would seem to go directly back to the same issue that has been in the Jewish Church for centuries - and that's the point that Abraham in his faith is not opposite of trust in Yeshua, especially when remembering that i
t was the Angel of the Lord - Yeshua Himself - who appeared to Abraham (more
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How can Jesus be God when the Hebrew Bible says God is not a man? ) to give the promise of a seed coming thru his line to whom all would be blessed (Genesis 18). And Yeshua was exactly the fulfillment of that promise. We can assume that this was God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, appearing to Abraham before His incarnation and birth at Bethlehem. We assume this because of God the Father it says, No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him (John 1:18), and no man has ever seen God in the Person of the Father (1 Timothy 6:16). Therefore, if God appeared to someone in human appearance in the Old Testament (and no one has seen God the Father) it makes sense the appearance is of the eternal Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, before His incarnation in Bethlehem.
Hazakim - Theophanies - YouTube
When we understand who the Angel of the Lord is and how that's connected to Abraham's promise (which Yeshua emphasized in practice), it really isn't a problem seeing how salvation via Abraham's promise was never opposite of following the Lord. In John 8:53, in a dialogue between Jesus and the Jews, he is asked the question: "Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself out to be?"
But His surprising and revealing response to this question is in verses 56-58: "' . . . Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old . . .' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' "
In Genesis 18:3, the word "Lord" is the same word as in verse 1, but is plural, which would seem to indicate that Abram could not initially determine who he was speaking with since they appeared as men. It wasn't until after the three had eaten, in verses 9-15, that he realized the true identity of his visitors and their purpose - and that one of those he spoke with was Jesus manifested in the flesh...
[Staff Edit]
On the day of Pentecost, Peter did nothing other than to preach the gospel of Christ, him crucified and resurrected to the Jews and to the baptize those that received Christ and trusted in him, wherein 3,000 souls were added to the church, Acts 2:5-41. The scripture culminates Peter's gospel message, "37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
"38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."