The Angel of the Lord

[Ed Warren]

Numbers 22:22-27 But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. [23] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. [24] Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. [25] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall, so he struck her again. [26] The angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. [27] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick.

Comment: The angel of the Lord is Jesus before He became a man.
Balaam was a false prophet.

:preach
Numbers 22:31-32 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. [32] The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me.

Numbers 22:34-35 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back." [35] But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you." So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

[Train]

The angel of the Lord also appears many times in the book of Judges.

From Chapter 13:
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"

18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.

22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

[ReadyForDeparture]

I found it very interesting in my studies to see that the Angel of the Lord appears throughout the Old Testament, but once the Messiah appeared in person to deal with sin, He no longer appears in scripture as the Angel of the Lord. As Ed Warren says.... this "angel" is really Jesus :thumb . He appeared many times in human form in the Old Testament. The writer of these OT scriptures did not know He was their Messiah when they encountered Him, but the Holy Spirit clearly showed them He was not like any other "angel". Therefore they used the special title of Angel of the Lord for Him.

Jesus appears as the Angel of the Lord in Scripture many times:
Genesis: chapters 16, 22, 24, 32, 48
Exodus: chapter 3
Numbers: chapter 22
Judges: chapters 2, 6, 13
2 Kings: chapter 19
Psalms: 34, 35
Isaiah: chapter 37
Hosea: chapter 12
Zechariah: chapters 1, 3, 14

The words "angel of the Lord" appear in other places as well, but usually with "an" in front of the words as opposed to "the". Also, there are other places where the words appear, but in context it does not seem to be talking of our Lord Jesus.

Comment: I have also always concluded that when God was walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening, that it could not be any one other than Jesus Himself walking and talking with Adam.

Waiting excitedly in Texas

[Chris]

I found it very interesting in my studies to see that the Angel of the Lord appears throughout the Old Testament, but once the Messiah appeared in person to deal with sin, He no longer appears in scripture as the Angel of the Lord. As Ed Warren says.... this "angel" is really Jesus :thumb . He appeared many times in human form in the Old Testament. The writer of these OT scriptures did not know He was their Messiah when they encountered Him, but the Holy Spirit clearly showed them He was not like any other "angel". Therefore they used the special title of Angel of the Lord for Him.

Jesus appears as the Angel of the Lord in Scripture many times:
Genesis: chapters 16, 22, 24, 32, 48
Exodus: chapter 3
Numbers: chapter 22
Judges: chapters 2, 6, 13
2 Kings: chapter 19
Psalms: 34, 35
Isaiah: chapter 37
Hosea: chapter 12
Zechariah: chapters 1, 3, 14

The words "angel of the Lord" appear in other places as well, but usually with "an" in front of the words as opposed to "the". Also, there are other places where the words appear, but in context it does not seem to be talking of our Lord Jesus.

Comment: I have also always concluded that when God was walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening, that it could not be any one other than Jesus Himself walking and talking with Adam.

Waiting excitedly in Texas

Since you mentioned the first advent thing, I found this article interesting as it talks about the same thing. :)

http://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html

Question: "Who is the angel of the Lord?"

Answer: The precise identity of the "angel of the Lord” is not specifically 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). In several of these appearances, those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for their lives because they had "seen the Lord." Therefore, it is clear that in at least some instances, the angel of the Lord is a theophany, an appearance of God in physical form.

The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but “THE angel of the Lord” is never mentioned in the New Testament. It is possible that appearances of the angel of the Lord were manifestations of Jesus before His incarnation. Jesus declared Himself to be existent “before Abraham,” (John 8:58), so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany), or an appearance of God the Father (theophany), it is highly likely that the phrase “the angel of the Lord” identifies a physical appearance of God.

[Timothy Long]

The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but “THE angel of the Lord” is never mentioned in the New Testament. It is possible that appearances of the angel of the Lord were manifestations of Jesus before His incarnation. Jesus declared Himself to be existent “before Abraham,” (John 8:58), so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany), or an appearance of God the Father (theophany), it is highly likely that the phrase “the angel of the Lord” identifies a physical appearance of God.
:thumb

[Katriel]

Notice that the Angel of the Lord accepts worship. Consider Revelation 22 where John attempts worship of a messenger angel which rebukes him and says worship God. Seems pretty clear to me Whom is portrayed...