Cool as you please the preacher said, "Oh by the way, when you see the term 'angel of the Lord' in Scripture, that's referring to a pre-incarnate form of Jesus."
He didn't say "That's my opinion" or, "There are
several good Bible scholars that have said... " No, to him it was a
settled fact!
With me it's a little unsettling. Isn't the making of Jesus into an angel
one of the steps on the road to heresy and cultic thinking? Don't the
"witnesses" claim the same thing, and the Mormons?
I know where the idea comes from, Biblically. There are several passages in
the Old Testament where the angel of the Lord shows up and starts saying things
that can only be the words of God. For example, Genesis 16:10, where the angel
says to Hagar, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly..." Many
other times conversations in which the angel engages refer to the
"him" alternately as an angel and God Himself. It's a very
understandable notion.
However, in other passages, the Lord and the angel are clearly two distinct
beings, as in I Chronicles 21:16 and 27, where David sees the angel of the Lord
with his sword drawn, and then the Lord tells the angel to put his
sword away.
So who is this angel, if not the Lord? We would do well to heed the answer
given to Manoah in Judges 13 when he asked a similar question. There are
obviously some things we do not know or need to know. But to jump to the
conclusion that this angel is God or God's Son is premature, and is the same
mistake, I believe, that John made when he also was visited by this very
person...
...In Revelation 22:7, John hears "His angel" (v. 6, that is, the
angel of the Lord) say, "Behold I am coming quickly..." John is
therefore about to worship him, and is told to stop! Then the angel keeps
talking more of Jesus' words, v. 11 and v. 13, even to saying "I am Alpha
and Omega!" Why shouldn't John think this is God! But he was wrong.
Is it possible for the very words of God to come out of the mouth of an
angel? Obviously. They are messengers. That's one reason they were
created!
We must all learn to keep our eyes on the Word alone. What does it say? What does it not say? In this matter, it says,
(1) angel (created being!)
(2) of (belonging to, not identical with)
(3) the Lord, (Who created it.)
Why must we make it anything (or anyone) else?
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