YESHUA IS The ANGEL Of The LORD
It’s about time for me to delve in an interesting subject.
The subject we’re about to look closer at is about The ANGEL of The LORD of the Old Testament. Many have correlated The ANGEL of The LORD of OT to archangel Michael which they believe is none other but JESUS CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST WHO Died for the sin of the world (John 3:16) was Michael “one of the foremost” angel in heaven. Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses has been on the forefront when it comes in relating JESUS as Michael.
The subject we’re about to look closer at is about The ANGEL of The LORD of the Old Testament. Many have correlated The ANGEL of The LORD of OT to archangel Michael which they believe is none other but JESUS CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST WHO Died for the sin of the world (John 3:16) was Michael “one of the foremost” angel in heaven. Seventh-day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses has been on the forefront when it comes in relating JESUS as Michael.
The belief that CHRIST is Michael is just one among myriads of heresies that has been propagated by the Watchtower Society (more about this subject in my article JESUS Is NOT Michael).
So, Who Is The ANGEL of The LORD?
A prelimenary task is at hand. First, we must be clear what we mean by “angel.” When a person speaks or mention angel what is it that comes into our minds? The word “angel” actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger.” The word angel per se doesn’t discribe what that being is. When someone says angel the word doesn’t automatically tells you about a shining, heavenly celestial being incorporating wings on his back, right?
A prelimenary task is at hand. First, we must be clear what we mean by “angel.” When a person speaks or mention angel what is it that comes into our minds? The word “angel” actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means “messenger.” The word angel per se doesn’t discribe what that being is. When someone says angel the word doesn’t automatically tells you about a shining, heavenly celestial being incorporating wings on his back, right?
Just because an angel or a messenger from heaven happened to have wings doesn’t presuppose that all messengers necessarily possesses angelic wings (as depicted in arts, paints and drawings such as the cherubim, seraphim and even the archangel). So, the word “angel” in a biblical sense simply means “envoy, ambassador, or messenger.”
Could it be possible that JESUS CHRIST, Before HIS Incarnation, acted as a Messenger in the OT? Absolutely! There’s no doubt about that. But don’t get hooked up with the word “messenger.” Being a “messenger” doesn’t always mean a subordinate person or being in comparing with GOD.
Initially, some contexts of the term “The ANGEL of The LORD” Appear to refer to nothing more than any other angel (as in Judges 6:11). But as the narrative progresses, that angel soon transcends the angelic category and is described in terms suited only to a member of the Trinity. Thus in the Judges 6 episode, we are startled when verse 14 has The LORD Speaking to Gideon, when previously only The ANGEL of The LORD had been talking [Hard Sayings Of The Bible, InterVarsity Press].
And…
The precise identity of The "ANGEL of The LORD" is not given in the Bible. However, there are many important “clues” to HIS Identity. There are Old and New Testament references to “angels of The LORD,” “an angel of The LORD,” and “The ANGEL of The LORD.” It seems when the definite article “the” is used, it is specifying a unique being, separate from the other angels. The ANGEL of The LORD Speaks As GOD, Identifies HIMSELF With GOD, and Exercises the Responsibilities of GOD (Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11-24; 13:3-22;2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12; 3:1; 12:8).¹
As I will demonstrate here in this exciting subject about The "ANGEL of The LORD", (Heb. Mal’akh YAHWEH) in the OT is none other than The Preincarnate SON of Man, JESUS CHRIST, The Second Person of The Triune GOD. As you will see, This ANGEL, according to the OT Is Indeed GOD of Abraham, Isaac and of Jacob (Ex. 3:6).
CHRIST Is Mal’akh YAHWEH in The Old Testament
The ANGEL of The LORD Appeared and Spoke to Moses as a flame of fire within the bush in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:2).
Before CHRIST Gave up HIS Heavenly abode because of HIS Supreme Mercy and Love Came to Earth to save humanity from its sin (John. 3:16), HE Was with GOD and Is GOD (John. 1:1).
According to the conventional understanding of the Holy Scriptures, GOD The FATHER, GOD The SON and GOD The HOLY SPIRIT Cooperated With Each Other in Their Creation of the universe, angels, animals and man (Gen. 1:1-2,26). It is therefore a huge mistake in correlating CHRIST with Michael since this archangel is just a created being and did nothing to create something. Angels too were created by GOD. GOD The SON Is Far Superior than the angels and Is Worshiped by angels!
Let us read the passage of Hebrews 1:1-8 (NIV) shall we?
In the past GOD Spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days HE Has Spoken to us by HIS SON, Whom HE Appointed heir of all things, and through Whom HE Made the universe. The SON Is The Radiance of GOD’S Glory and the Exact Representation of HIS Being, Sustaining all things by HIS Powerful WORD. After HE Had Provided purification for sins, HE Sat Down at the Right Hand of the Majesty in heaven. So HE Became as much superior to the angels as the Name HE Has Inherited Is Superior to theirs. For to which of the angels Did GOD Ever Say, YOU Are MY SON; today I Have Become YOUR FATHER? Or again, I Will Be HIS FATHER, and HE Will Be MY SON? And again, when GOD Brings HIS Firstborn into the world, HE Says, Let all GOD’S angels Worship HIM. In speaking of the angels HE Says, HE Makes HIS angels winds, HIS servants flames of fire. But about The SON HE Says, YOUR Throne, O GOD, Will Last for ever and ever, and Righteousness will be the Scepter of YOUR Kingdom.
In Genesis 1.27 reads, So GOD Created man in HIS OWN Image, in the Image of GOD Created HE him; male and female created HE them. This passage did not speak of GOD created man in the image angels. But GOD’S Image HE Created man.
In the New Testament, JESUS Said, before Abraham Was, I AM (John. 8:58). “This speaks Abraham a creature, and our LORD The Creator; well, therefore, might HE Make HIMSELF greater than Abraham. I AM, Is the Name of GOD, Ex 3:14; It Speaks HIS Self-existence; HE Is The First and The Last, ever the same, Revelation 1:8 (Matthew Henry Concise Commentary).” In contrast with Abraham who is a finite being and who has a beginning, JESUS’ Life Was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute, timeless existence. The I AM statement of JESUS Would be awkward if HE Was just a created and ordinary messenger!
Before Abraham was, I AM-The words rendered “was” and “AM” are quite different. The one clause means, “Abraham was brought into being”; the other, “I Exist.” The statement therefore is not that CHRIST Came Into Existence before Abraham did (as Arians affirm is the meaning), but that HE Never Came Into Being at all, but Existed before Abraham had a being; in other words, Existed before creation, or eternally (as John 1:1). In that sense the Jews plainly understood HIM, since “then took they up stones to cast at HIM,” just as they had before done when they saw that HE Made HIMSELF Equal With GOD (John 5:18) [Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary].
Compare the confirmation of JESUS where Mal’akh YAHWEH and Moses had a private conversation in which GOD Told Moses that HE Is I AM. GOD Is Described as The ANGEL of The LORD in Exodus 3:14. It is interesting to note that JESUS Never Said that, “before Abraham, I WAS.” JESUS Clearly Confessed to the pharisees that HE Is The Alpha and The Omega (John. 1:1) in John 8:58, and this very statement put JESUS in a very dangerous position. Claiming HIMSELF To Be on equal footing with YHVH wasn’t acceptable by the zealot Jews.
Of course The I AM (the Eternal YHVH) statement of JESUS Won’t Make any sense at all if JESUS Was an archangel (Gr. chief angel) Michael who is said to be “one among the chief angels (Daniel 10:13)!” We should not ignore the fact that Gabriel is an archangel too (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26)! Besides, CHRIST Is Identified as “ONE and ONLY Begotten SON (KJV)”, which means HE Is Unique, (monogenes in Greek) in John 3:16. The uniqueness of JESUS don’t make much sense if HE Is just one among chief angels!
Anyway, however you look at these passages, GOD Created the angels, archangels or otherwise (Psaim 148:2, 5). And this is the Same GOD WHO Is Also Known in the as The ANGEL of The LORD The Great I AM!
The early church fathers contends and identify CHRIST as Mal’akh YAHWEH in the Old Testament.
Tertullian 230 A.D. On the Flesh of CHRIST: Chapter 14
“But HE Is Not on this account to be regarded as an angel, as a Gabriel or a Michael….HE…Is Verily GOD, and The SON of GOD.”
Irenaeus 200 A.D. Against Heresies 4:20:1:
“It was not angels, therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an Image of GOD, nor any one else, except The WORD of The LORD, nor any Power remotely distant from The FATHER of all things. For GOD Did Not Stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of What HE Had HIMSELF Determined with HIMSELF beforehand should be done, as if HE Did Not Possess HIS OWN Hands. For with HIM were always present The WORD and WISDOM, The SON and The SPIRIT, by Whom and in Whom, freely and spontaneously, HE Made all things, to Whom also HE Speaks, Saying,
`Let Us Make man after Our Image and Likeness….’”
Again, like I said earlier, don’t be fooled by a mere word, “angel.” Angel doesn’t always means created suprahuman beings. The ANGEL of The LORD Is certainly Not an ordinary angelic being but a Theophany of the Preincarnate JESUS CHRIST WHO Came to earth to Bring a message of sacrifice and salvation—Amen.