INTRODUCTION

We are beginning section 2 of our study of angels. When we began section 1 we said that it was necessary to distinguish between the angel of the LORD and angels in general. Many current and historical Bible scholars, dating back to the 1st century, have concluded that the angel of the LORD was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus the Christ. I understand that some 1st century church historians also taught it. Since I am naturally skeptical, I set out to prove it for myself from the scriptures. The results of this study are included in Jesus in the Old Testament under the section titled Jesus and His Gospel. and therefore are not repeated in this study. An outline of the way in which we proved that Jesus was the angel of the Lord is given below.

AN OUTLINE OF BIBLICAL PROOF THAT JESUS IS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

Since the angel of the LORD is really Jesus, we must be careful not to ascribe characteristics of the angel of the Lord to angels in general. I tried to carefully make that distinction in section 1 of this study. We must also distinguish between an angel of the LORD, who could be any angel, and the angel of the LORD, who is Jesus the Christ. Remember, the word angel may refer to a special class of created beings or it may simply mean “messenger.” The angel of the LORD is really the messenger of the LORD, a special messenger sent by the Father to reveal God to man. This special messenger turns out to be God himself. Some angels are also used as messengers, but in some special instances God has chosen to deliver his message himself. Following is the outline that I used in proving that Jesus is the angel of the LORD.

Show the following concerning the angel of the Lord

• He was God, was YHWH
• He appeared on earth in Old Testament times and looked like a man
• He was worshipped
• He was the covenant maker
• He was Israel’s protector
• He was not the Father God
• He presented models and patterns for the future of Israel involving Jesus

Show the following concerning Jesus​

• Jesus was God
• Jesus was God of the Jews in the Old Testament
• Jesus was the angel of the LordThis was all a part of God’s plan to gradually reveal more and more of himself to the people of earth, without taking away their free will to either accept or reject him. Again, go to my study noted above for a complete study on the angel of the Lord.