Yes, Christ was born in Bethlehem, but Christ's existence didn't begin with His coming to this earth as a baby in Bethlehem. The Apostle John emphasized this in the beginning of his gospel: "In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1-3, ESV). Jesus was present at the beginning of creation. He was and is our creator. His pre-existence is further affirmed by His many appearances documented throughout the Old Testament.
John F. Walvoord, Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary believed and taught that "It is safe to assume that every visible manifestation of God in bodily form in the Old Testament is to be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ."
These pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ are called Christohanies. In this book Dr. Raymond Horne digs deep into Scripture giving details of Christ's pre-incarnate appearances to Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Moses, Balaam, Joshua, Gideon and Sampson's mother, lifting out life principles and practical applications for today.
