The term “the angel of the Lord” appears numerous times in the Bible. In some instances it seems to be referring to God manifesting himself (appearing) in the form of an angel, also known as a theophany. Other times the phrase simply meant an angel sent as a messenger.
When The Angel Of The Lord Was God
The first individual from the Old Testament to encounter the angel of the Lord was Hagar. After this encounter in (Genesis 16:7-12) Hagar said, “You are the God who sees me. I have now seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). She seemed to be identifying the one she encountered as God.
There are times when the angel of the Lord would speak as God. A great example was when the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush. The Bible says God called Moses from within the bush and said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses then hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2-6)
Another example can be found in (Genesis 22). The angel of the Lord seems to be speaking to Abraham as God.
(Genesis 22:15-18) The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
When It Was Simply An Angel
In (2 Samuel 24:16) we read where God speaks to the angel of the Lord instead of as the angel of the Lord.
(2 Samuel 24:16) When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
The New Testament
All references to the angel of the Lord in the New Testament appear to be nothing more than an angel. There isn’t anything that indicates a theophany in these instances.
(Mathew 1:20) But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
(Mathew 2:13) When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
(Mathew 28:2) There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
(Acts 8:26) Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
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