The answer
Seeing the divinity plainly is impossible. This is why God said to Moses, “Thou shalt not be able to see My face; for no man shall see My face, and live” (Exod. 33:20 LXX). For this, the prophets prepared the way for humanity for the great revelation of God amongst us (Emmanuel = God with us).
Some of the Fathers liken the Old Testament to an engagement, and the Incarnation to marriage, for God sealed His manifestation by the Incarnation.
This is why it was necessary for God to take on flesh, so that we may see Him. The Holy Apostle John says, “And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the [spirit] of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:3).
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II
Pope Tawadros II, My Faith: A Series of Dialogues on the Creed (Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, 2014), 76–77.
The pages in the book (76–77)
