Christophany:
The angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.
I don’t agree. The pre-incarnate form Christ took in the Old Testament was “the Word:”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made (that includes the “angels” whom Christ created). In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:1-15
Even today, with specific testimony like this, there are many who still do not fully comprehend who Jesus Christ really is, the creative force of God by whom everything came into existence, including all the hosts of heaven. Christ is not an angelic creature but the Creator of them, nor did he make an occassional appearance in the Old Testament in angelic form. Christ is the Word of God who pre-existed the creation, made the creation, upholds the creation and has been ever present in this world since the creation. That's why Paul says that "in him was life" (referring to Christ the Word of God before his incarnation) but no one could comprehend the light of life that was in the Word because all dwelt in darkness until Pentecost. Only after then was it given to men to see and understand the light of life that is in the Word Made Flesh. Now we have had our eyes opened to comprehend who this man really is . . . An EverPresent God who has been with us from the very beginning, leading, teaching, upholding, warning, judging, punishing, cleansing, saving, blessing, speaking, showing forth his power and glory. Those holy men of old lived their lives in subjection to Christ the Pre-Incarnate Word of God, long before Christ took on flesh and became a man.
The precise identity of the Angel of the Lord is not very clear or specific in the Bible, yet there are various clues as to His identity.
I think the title “angel of the Lord” is a rather clear identity. This is a created angelic being who is the messenger of God, therefore he speaks for God and acts on God’s behalf. But nowhere do the Scriptures imply that he IS God.
The "Angel of the Lord speaks as God
Agreed, just as an ambassador (another definition of "angel") speaks with the authority of the one whom he represents.
and identifies Himself with God
Again, agreed, identifies himself with God (as God's messenger; deputy; ambassador), but never identifies himself as God.
and also exercises the responsibilities of God –
Only in so far as he is commissioned by God to carry out God’s will.
All the angels, even the archangel Michael as well as the archangel Gabriel, even the death angel commonly called the "Grim Reaper" but whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon (which means "Destroyer" - see Revelation 9:11 - and also identifies the angel who passed over the land of Egypt slaying the firstborn sons; see Exodus 12:23 where his name is not given but he is identified simply as "the destroyer") all angelic beings execute the will of God, as His messengers, both of good tidings as well as destruction.
see Genesis 16:7-21, Genesis 16:17-18, Genesis 22:11-18. Exodus 3:2, Judges 2:1-4, Judges 5:23, Judges 6:11-24, Judges 13:3-22, 2 Samuel 24:15, Zechariah 1:12, Zechariah 3:1, Zechariah 12:8
In most of the scripture mentioned above, people who saw the "Angel of the Lord" feared for their lives because they had "seen the Lord", which amounts to "Theophany" which means an appearance of God in physical form.
In all the verses above, nowhere does the Scripture say that the angel that appeared in these accounts was God, the reactions of the people notwithstanding. The Scripture consistently maintains that this was the messenger of God, not God Himself. If it was God Himself appearing to people he wouldn’t be a “messenger of” the Lord.
What is also important to note is that the phrase "the Angel of the Lord" ceases to be used in the New Testament after the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
That’s not true. It was the “angel of the Lord” who appeared in a dream to Joseph to tell him to not be afraid to take Mary to wife, that the babe she was carrying was conceived by the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:24)
And it was the “angel of the Lord” who appeared in the sky over Bethlehem and announced to the shepherds that Christ had been born! (Luke 2:9)
It was the “angel of the Lord” who again warned Joseph in a dream, this time that Herod would try to have the babe slain and for Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt. (Matthew 1:13)
And then it was the “angel of the Lord” who summoned the holy family back again after Herod’s death. (Matthew 2:19) In fact, it was the “angel of the Lord” who, 48 years later in 44 A.D., smote Herod Agrippa to death as he sat upon a throne in the ampitheatre during a feast to his honor and allowed the people to receive his “soaring oratory” (so the egocentric Herod would have deemed it) as if his was the “voice of a god.” The “angel of the Lord” immediately smote Herod and he died an awful, awful death five days later. (Acts 12:23)
And goodness! It was the “angel of the Lord” who rolled the stone away at Jesus’ resurrection! (Matthew 28:2)
And loosed the Apostles from prison after Jesus ascension. (Acts 5:19)
And sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch. (Acts 8:26)
And appeared to Cornelius (this was 10 years after Jesus’ ascension; Matthew 10:3)
And freed Peter from prison (Acts 12:7)
And it was the “angel of the Lord” who told Paul they would be shipwrecked but all would survive. (this would have been some 66 years after Jesus’ incarnation Acts 27:23)
But He was never the ArchAngel Michael.
Jesus was never an angel at all.
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (God never said this of any of the angels) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him (God commanded that all the angels worship Jesus). And of the angels he saith, (this is what God says the angels are) Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” Hebrews 1:1-8
All of the above would be totally confounded in meaning if Jesus was in fact an angel because the point of this passage is that Jesus is better than the angels being God’s own Son and that the angels themselves owe homage to Christ. Jesus is higher than and distinct from the angels, he is God. In the Old Testament Christ appears as “the Word of God” and in these last days he is “the Son of God.”
The angels of God are our fellowservants, and with us they serve and worship Christ, the Word of God who has made us all.
In Christ,
Pilgrimer
