Christian readers of Scripture did once fully know this, but we have let our guard down by adopting a hermeneutic of suspicion toward the Christ-centered nature of Scripture due to divine inspiration. Each branch, each fiber, was wrapped in flame; but the flame was harmless to destroy. They had been told by the army to get out; the army was coming to blast them to kingdom come the next day. Note that the Lord of angels does not come and go, and pay us transient visits, but He and His armies encamp around us. Here, the LORD (YHWH) himself reveals the nature and activity of his angel: Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. (Genesis 48:15-16). I was a Trinitarian for 22 years before reading myself out of it in the Bible. Hosea But the whole subject of angels and demons is quite mysterious in the Bible. At the end of this exchange between the Angel and Manoah and his wife, the Angel ascended in the flame of the offering. The angel of the LORD in the OT was not God himself but his personal representative. Zechariah 1:12. Indeed, when we come to the last analysis of the case, we find that the mental region is the region where pain reports itself. Sally and I are signing in early this morning (for us!) 31 "And when Moses saw it, he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 'I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB.' 4:4; 1 John 4:10, 14) points to Jesus preexistence. John 5:4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.>. Does it not seem to us that the Creator, in giving us this nature, has taken upon Himself a responsibility so great and so fearful that none but Himself could bear it? It is characteristic for the Father to send and the Son to be the sent One. Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. Christ as the Angel of Jehovah is identified as Jehovah in numerous Old Testament passages. The other view identifies the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; (means "the house of God") however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. Once God the Son appeared as flesh, there was no longer a need for Him to appear in any other form as the Angel of the Lord. He replies, "Look unto Me." (reaffirming the Abrahamic Covenant) 14 "Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.15 "And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Romans 1:25 bewails the wickedness of worshiping Gods creatures rather than the Creator, and Colossians 2:18 specifically warns against worshiping angels: Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. 2023 ~ all rights reserved, Access all of our teaching materials through our smartphone apps conveniently and quickly. c. The similarity of function between the Angel of Jehovah and Christ can be observed in the fact that Both are sent by the Father. Ezra There has never been any consensus in Judaism about the identity of the angel of the LORD/God in its Bible. His commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures is the most well known in Jewish circles even till today. 21:1518; Isa. Yet many things point to that conclusion. (Wenham, G. J. Vol. Swearing an oath is a matter of one's own conscience, therefore Angels cannot swear oaths on behalf of God Himself and Jesus Christ is not an angel but rather the "messenger of the Lord." Angels cannot multiply descendants but the angel of the Lord multiplied Hagars descendants at Genesis 16:10. (Ex 3:5), What constitutes the sanctity? However just as we see Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three friends of Daniel, mysteriously not consumed in the blazing furnace because that mysterious fourth person like a son of the gods, the Angel of the Lord, was in there with them, so we are not consumed by Gods glory thanks to Jesus our Messiah. and your labor for that which satisfies not? The implication being that the angelcan forgive their transgression. So he bowed and acknowledged his sin. I will go to heaven, but where will you go? And His nature has not changed. Leviticus If you make it, your own militia people will kill you at the other end because it's after curfew." But is impassivity perfection? Mat 28:2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. (From ChristologyPart 4: The Preincarnate Son of God), Walvoord adds that "The testimony of the early (Church) Fathers on the theophanies of Christ in the Old Testament is full and conclusive. Dickason lists several parallel ministries. We are invited to draw near and give heed. OF THE LORD Therefore, to Jacob an angel says: " Why is it that you ask my name? ONE FOR ISRAEL is an initiative of native-born Israelis on the forefront of high-tech media evangelism, proclaiming salvation to Israel, raising up spiritual leaders through ONE FOR ISRAELs Bible College and equipping them with the tools they need to transform our communities. (Psalm 34:7), C H Spurgeon comments that the angel of the Lord in Psalm 34:7 is the, covenant angel, the Lord Jesus, at the head of all the bands of heaven, surrounds with his army the dwellings of the saints. Whenever angels are mentioned in the Bible and given any description, it is never other than appearing as a man. Obadiah "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him." Answer: "The Angel of the Lord" is referred to 56 times in 51 verses in the Hebrew Scriptures. 11:29) And again, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Sentineled by the messengers of God, we shall not be surprised by sudden assaults, nor swallowed up by overwhelming forces. Yet it should be clear not only from Judes citation but from the dyadic revelation of YHWH and angel that Jesus is the angel of YHWH. (Acts 7:30-38), SCRIPTURE OCCURRENCES OF He Made It Out of Prison. The number of theophanies which are without question furnish one of the major forms of Old Testament revelation of God. We must look at the context to determine whether a human or spirit messenger is meant. In v. 12 He says you have not withheld your son from Me, obviously referring to God. Deuteronomy THE ANGEL IN THE PILLAR OF CLOUD & FIRE, The LORD Who went before Israel in a pillar of cloud (Click here for note on the Shekinah glory cloud of the LORD) was none other than the Angel of God. When we think of these things, HOW WONDROUS, HOW TERRIBLE DOES THIS NATURE OF OURS SEEM! "The Angel of the Lord" appears, and in His mission there is full reply. This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Also, there is no association made in Revelation 12 between Jesus as the Child to rule all nations (Revelation 12:4-5) and Michael mentioned just after (Revelation 12:7). It is well that it should be so, for callous indifference to the causes of sorrow and pain found in the lives of others is surely a most unpromising state. When the United Nations came, this little enclave with Serb houses sitting up on the hillside began to be repopulated by Croatians headed by Bosada. In all their affliction He was afflicted. WHO IS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD? THE ANGEL OF THE LORD It is faith's privilege to know, that before time was, an everlasting Covenant secures salvation. (Ps 18:19-note) Thus comfort to the sorrowing is an early lesson from the "Angel of the Lord" appearing in the burning bush. According to John 1:18 (RSV) : No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known. This passage seems to imply that only Christ could be visible to man and that the first Person and the third Person did not reveal Themselves in visible fashion. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. As discussed above, although the phrase Angel of the Lord is present 12 times in the NT, none of those instances can be identified as a God. The angel of the Lord meets the prophet, Judges 2:13. Many times throughout Scripture, this Angel speaks as if He is God. You're my friend. The verse, therefore, means that it was no ordinary angelic messenger, but the supreme embodiment of Jehovahs presence that accompanied Israel in the early days. While some confusion of the details is inevitable, Scripture is much clearer on this matter than we sometimes think. Jill Briscoe, "In the Father's Arms," Preaching Today, Tape No. Who? As one of the principal theophanies, it is important for many reasons, confirming the preexistence of Christ, and revealing the ministry of God to men in the Old Testament period. The term the Angel of the Lord first appears inGenesis 16: Notice a few things here. Of the many Old Testament references to angels of God, there are a few where One called the Angel of the Lord is also identified as the Lord (Genesis 16:10-13; Genesis 22:11-12; Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:3-22). 3:1). ", Genesis 16:7-11 Acts Joel It is rather a name for His highest sensible manifestation, and hardly differs from what is in other places called the Malak Yahveh (Angel of Jehovah). The titles of Christ in both the Old and New Testament are another line of evidence in support of His deity and in confirmation of His attributes. The Angel of the Lord is distinct from Yahweh. Second, God (the speaker here) relays a past event in which the angel uses "I" as in "I brought you up" and "I swore" and "I will never break my covenant with you." This "I" in the events that YHWH here cites are examples of YHWH himself speaking! A created angel is never recorded as cutting a covenant, leaving no doubt that this Angel is no ordinary created angel but is the Lord Himself. Like Jacob, people can say, "I could not be shaken" through these four ways included in that verse: Revelation. First, we know the Godhead is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but in John 6: 46, Jesus says, 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.Since no one has seen the Father, and since people did see the Angel of the Lord, we can, therefore, know that the angel of the Lord cannot be the Father. (Zechariah 3:4,6, see also v.7-10). In the New Testament, Christ is sent by God the Father to reveal God in the flesh, to reveal truth and to become the Saviour. What happened? Each leaf was clasped in the fangs of a devouring element, but still each leaf remained as if untouched. Nifredim as he calls them (disembodied spirits) dont have that authority. In this ardent desire we may fly to "the Angel of the Lord." We thought we would contribute to the music ministry (again). Why don't you turn to my Redeemer?"