Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.

Yahweh also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day Yahweh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.”

So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments. He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.”

So on the third day, when it was morning, there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up…

Exodus 19:9–25 (LSB)

I include here the English translation of the Greek (Septuagint) version of Exodus in order to highlight the specific terms that directly connect with the New Testament witness:

“And let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will descend (katabēsetai kyrios) upon Mount Sinai before all the people… And the Lord came down (katebē de kyrios) upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain…”

Exodus 19:11, 16–20 (LXX)

The Psalms also describe YHWH as descending and ascending in a cloud and with the sound of a trumpet:

Clap your hands, all you peoples;
Shout to God with the voice of joy…
God has ascended with a shout,
Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet…

Psalm 47:1–9 (LSB)

Note the Greek version:

“God (ho theos) has gone up with a shout,
the Lord (Kyrios) with the sound of a trumpet (en phōnē salpingos).”
Psalm 46:6 (LXX)

Remarkably, the New Testament portrays Jesus as the Lord who descends and ascends in a cloud, and who will appear in flaming fire with His angels and with the blast of the trumpet of God:

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight… This Jesus… will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.
Acts 1:9–11 (LSB)

For the Lord Himself (ho kyrios autos) will descend (katabēsetai) from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God (en salpingi theou)…
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (LSB)

…at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire (en pyri phlogos)…
2 Thessalonians 1:7–8 (LSB)

As readers can see, the New Testament even employs the same Greek terms used in the Septuagint.

It is therefore clear that the inspired New Testament writers are deliberately portraying Jesus as that very YHWH God who ascends and descends in a cloud. This is reinforced by what the Apostle Paul writes elsewhere:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives…
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens…”
Ephesians 4:8–10 (LSB)

The blessed Apostle has directly applied the words of Psalm 68:18 and Jeremiah 23:23–24 to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What this proves is that the New Testament has explicitly identified Jesus Christ as YHWH God Almighty who became a human being for our redemption. At the same time, the New Testament is equally clear that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who is personally distinct from both the Father and the Holy Spirit.

There is simply no honest way of evading these revealed truths of the God-breathed Scriptures.

Scriptural references are taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) unless otherwise noted.