December 9, 2007 / Volume 11, Issue 49
The Angel Of The LORD
"...No one has seen God at any time..." (John 1:18; cf. 1 John 4:12) declared the apostle John. Given that Jesus is identified in Scripture as God (John 1:1), and that He has been sent among men (John 1:14; Matthew 1:23) to declare the Father to us (John 1:18; 14:9-10), it would seem appropriate to conclude that John's statement was with regard to the Father, not the Son. In fact, Jesus tells us that no one "...has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father." (John 6:46)
And yet, there are occurrences, especially in the Old Testament where individuals saw the LORD. If no one has seen the Father at any time, who is it that was seen by these folks? Who is it that appeared to Abraham saying, "I am Almighty God..." (Genesis 17:1)? Who was the LORD that he entertained with a meal a chapter later (Genesis 18:1)? Who did Moses speak to face to face (Exodus 33:11)? The Scriptures reveal plainly that it was not the Father (whom no man has seen at any time), but rather the pre-incarnate Christ — Jesus, before He came in the flesh.
The Christ Led Israel From Egypt
Christ was "...the spiritual Rock that followed them..." (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)
Moses tells us "...the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud..." (Exodus 13:21)
Exodus 14:19 calls this same One, identified by Paul as Christ and by Moses as the LORD "the Angel of God..."
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A recurring phrase in Scripture is "the Angel of the LORD", or as appears in Exodus 14:19, "the Angel of God." This appears to be a common description used to speak about the pre-incarnate Christ through the Old Testament. |
The Christ Led Israel In The Wilderness
Paul cautions us to not "...tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents..." (1 Corinthians 10:9; cf. Numbers 21:5-6). The inference is that they tempted Christ, for he was the One who journeyed with them in the wilderness.
The Christ Spoke To Moses From The Burning Bush
Stephen, in his review of Israel's history indicated that it was the Angel of the LORD who appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Acts 7:30, 35). In the Exodus account, the same individual is referred to as "...the Angel of the LORD... the LORD... God... the God of your father..." (Exodus 3:2-6)
The Christ Spoke To Moses And Israel From Sinai
Again, Stephen calls the One who spoke with Moses and the nation from Mount Sinai "...the Angel..." (Acts 7:38) The Exodus account refers to Him as "...the LORD..." (Exodus 19:20-21), "...God..." (Exodus 20:1-2), and "...My Angel..." (Exodus 23:20-23)
The Christ Foretold Manoah of Samson's Birth
Manoah and his wife were told in Judges that they would have a child. The message came from "...the Angel of the LORD..." (Judges 13:16). Manoah was not aware who this was speaking to him, and asked His name. The response came from the Angel of the LORD, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is Wonderful." (v 18) This is among the titles which are applied to the Christ (Isaiah 9:6).
Manoah and his wife made an offering to the LORD, and "...it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar – the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar!" (v 20) What did they conclude from this? "...Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD." (v 21). As such, he feared, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!" (v 22)
The Christ Appeared To Joshua
"...a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand... as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come... Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped." (Joshua 5:13-15)
The worship of angels is forbidden (Revelation 22:8-9), but Joshua bowed and worshiped, even as Moses had (Exodus 3:5).
The Christ Appeared To Hagar
"...The Angel of the LORD..." spoke to Hagar and "...she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees..." wondering, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" (Genesis 16:7-13)
Years later, this same one heard the voice of Ishmael, and again spoke with Hagar. He is identified as both "...God..." and "...the Angel of God..." (Genesis 21:14-20)
The Christ Appeared To Abraham
On more than one occasion, the Angel of the LORD appeared to and spoke with Abraham. In Genesis 17:1, He identifies Himself as "Almighty God". In Genesis 18, again, the Angel of the LORD comes, with two other angels also. In Genesis 22, the Angel of the LORD stopped Abraham from doing harm to his son Isaac, stating, "...now I know that you fear God..." How did He know? "...you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me..." The sacrifice was being made to God, to the Angel of the LORD.
The Christ Appeared To Balaam
Throughout Numbers 22:22-35, "God", "the Angel of the LORD", and "the LORD" are used interchangeably to refer to the One who was angered at Balaam and stood against him in the way.
Several other texts speak about the Angel of the LORD, and indicate that this is the pre-incarnate Christ, one who is equal to the Father in His nature, the LORD, Jehovah God. The above should suffice to see the work of the Lord, even in Old Testament times, as the pre-incarnate Christ worked among the people of Israel.
Click here for this week's Answering The Atheist
Can God stop iron chariots? He can do anything (Judges 4:13-16), but iron chariots are too hard for Him (Judges 1:19)? Is there a contradiction?
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