The angel of Jehovah part 2

1) Last Sunday night we studied a very Bible character: the Angel of Jehovah.

2) Those who use the KJV will find this character described as the angel of the LORD.

3) In the NKJV translators capitalize the “a” in Angel of Jehovah.

4) In our previous study we did not identify who this angel is.

5) We did, however, point out that this character is somehow associated with God.

6) Based upon the verses previously given, the Angel of Jehovah is a theophany.

a) That is, we have God assuming human form.

b) A new text that makes this point very well is the passage we were asked to keep ready.

c) If you have found Ex. 23:20-23, let’s read it together now - READ.

d) A rather striking statement is in this reading.

e) My name is in Him (21b. Here is a place where we see the importance of a single word.

f) God could have said My name is with Him. A different preposition is used in the text (“in”).

g) This is a way of saying the Angel was Jehovah as much as God the Father is Jehovah.

h) A second statement also jumps off the page; this Angel is associated with forgiveness of sins.

i) If the Hebrew people failed to live as they should, this angel would not pardon them.

j) The lack of pardon would not be due to the Angel’s inability to forgive.

k) The people would not be forgiven if they choose rebellion.

7) Only deity has the power to forgive sins; Mk. 2:1-12.

8) Once again we are faced with the fact that the Angel of Jehovah is somehow associated with God.

9) Speaking of God, there is a fact we are reminded over and over about in the Scriptures.

10) There is only “one God.” Any other god is a false god.

11) If this is true, how do we relate this fact to the Angel of Jehovah?

a) My next reference comes from the book of 2 Sam.; 2 Sam. 24:15-16.

b) Here we find Jehovah (the LORD, God), sending the Angel of Jehovah to punish Israel.

c) David had numbered the people, and this act led to a terrible consequence.

d) 2 Sam. 24:15-16 - READ.

12) 70,000 people died. A parallel account of this story is found in 1 Chron. 21:16.

13) In the references from last week we studied how some people actually got to see the Angel of Jehovah.

14) This being assumed a form that was visible to the human eye.

15) In 1 Chron. 21 we see that David was also someone who was permitted to see the Angel of Jehovah.

16) On this occasion the Angel had a drawn sword and was hovering over Jerusalem ready to strike.

17) This incident in David’s life reveals a distinction between Jehovah and Angel of Jehovah.

18) That is, the two are not one and the same; there is some type of separation between God and this Angel.

19) We will say more about this shortly.

20) Another well known story in the Old Testament is the destruction of some Assyrian soldiers.

21) Nearly 200,000 soldiers died (2 Kgs. 19:35).

22) Who was responsible for the lives of these men? It was the Angel of Jehovah.

23) This being was again sent (commissioned by God) to carry out this task.

24) It is as if the Angel of Jehovah has taken directions from the Father.

25) Another key Old Testament passage for this angel, and I will read this one, comes from Zech. 1.

a) In Zech. 1:12-13 we actually find a conversation taking place between Jehovah and the Angel of Jehovah.

b) Heaven is pictured as discussing what would happen to the Jews after the return from Babylonian captivity.

c) This information was given in a vision and it involved the restoration of the temple and Jerusalem.

d) Verses 12-13 of Zehc. 1- READ.

e) It looks like there are two divine beings, one of which is the Angel of Jehovah.

26) We were asked to keep ready two passages; we have used the first so let’s turn to the second.

27) Isaiah says something very, very interesting in Isa. 44:6, and it is now time to read that passage.

a) Isa. 44:6 - READ.

b) Most have no difficulty with “Jehovah, the King of Israel.”

c) This is definitely a reference to God (deity).

d) Notice the conjunction (“and”). The prophet speaks of “AND His Redeemer.”

e) Who is this Redeemer? The Redeemer is identified as “Jehovah of hosts.”

f) God’s prophet identified two separate beings as Jehovah.

g) Yet, he also affirms in this very same verse there is only “one God.”

28) This passages forms an exact parallel with the Angel of Jehovah texts we have already studied.

29) There is God in the sense of the Father plus another divine being.

30) It is now time to come right out and ask if we can identify who the Angel of Jehovah is.

a) In the New Testament we read of a “Godhead” (Acts 17:29; Col. 2:9).

b) A non-Biblical description for the Godhead is the word “trinity.”

c) We see the Godhead back in Isa. 44 as well as the Angel of Jehovah passages I have listed.

d) It seems the Angel of Jehovah is a reference to Jesus.

e) There are several lines of evidence that lead to this conclusion.

31) In Jn. 12:39-41 we find a reference to the writings of Isaiah.

a) These verses indicate that the vision Isaiah had in Isa. 6 was a vision of Jesus.

b) Isaiah did not see a manifestation of the Holy Spirit or the Father; it was the Messiah.

c) Just as Jesus allowed people to get glimpses of Him as the Angel of Jehovah, so He appeared to the prophet.

32) A second passage that supports Jesus being the Angel of Jehovah is 1 Cor. 10:4.

a) Paul spoke of the time when Israel was wandering in the wilderness.

b) He said Israel needed some help; they drank of a “spiritual rock that followed them.”

c) Then he identifies that rock as “Christ.”

d) Jesus worked with Israel just as we find the Angel of Jehovah working with people in the Old Testament.

33) In addition to these points, we also consider where the Angel of Jehovah is mentioned in the Bible.

34) Time and time again this “Angel” is found in the Old Testament; He does not appear in the New.

35) This is rather strange; why would a character as important as this be listed time and time again & then disappear?

36) The answer seems to be that He did not disappear; He is very present, only we now see Him as Jesus.

37) Associated with this point is the similar work of this special Angel and the work of Jesus.

a) When we compare the work of Jesus and the Angel of Jehovah we find amazing parallels.

b) From the Old Testament references we have read we see God (the Father) sending the Angel of Jehovah.

c) What do we find with the New Testament concerning Jesus and the Father?

d) Time and time again we are told of how the Father sent the Son.

e) We find the Angel of Jehovah working as a type of intercessor at various times.

f) Jesus operates in this same manner. He continues to serve as an intercessor.

g) In the Old Testament we see this intercession in places like Zech. 1:12-13; 3:1-2.

h) In the New Testament we find Jesus and intercession in Jn. 17; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25.

i) When the Angel of Jehovah spoke to Moses at the burning bush, the subject was deliverance.

j) Moses was told how he going to the deliver the children of Israel.

k) When we look at the life of Jesus, we read about this same subject: deliverance..

38) One of the most compelling references about Jesus being the Angel of Jehovah is in Mal. 3:1.

a) If you have not turned to any passage tonight with me, I would like you to open your Bible to this passage.

b) This is a passage that contains the word “messenger” in most of the translations people now use.

c) Mal. 3:1 is also a familiar text to many because it describes the work of John the Baptist.

d) About 400 years before Jesus came, Malachi issued this prophecy.

e) If you need some help finding this book, it is the last book of the Old Testament.

39) The word “messenger” is used twice in Mal. 3:1.

40) Translators likely felt they needed use translate the word “messenger” to avoid confusion.

41) I believe they made the right choice. This translation does not clue us in to a small but key fact.

42) “Messenger” in Mal. 3:1 is the word elsewhere translated “angel.”

a) Last week we cited Gen. 16:7; the Angel of Jehovah appeared to Hagar.

b) Angel in Gen. 16:7 is the same word translated “messenger” in Mal. 3:1.

c) Let’s look at the first verse in Mal. 3 together – READ.

43) In the first part of the verse we know what is being said; this refers to John the Baptist.

a) John the Baptist would prepare the way for Jesus.

b) We read about this in the Gospels in places like Mt. 3:1-17.

c) In the latter part of this verse we come to the “messenger of the covenant.”

d) Messenger could be translated “angel” of the covenant.

e) Who did Malachi have in mind when he spoke about the Messenger of the covenant?

44) This is a reference to Jesus. Here we find the word for “angel” being attached to the Lord’s identity.

45) If translators had rendered the text, “angel of the covenant,” false religious groups would have had a perfect text.

46) They could have argued (though it would have been untrue), “This verse says Jesus is an angel.”

47) “We know that all angels are created, so Jesus is not eternal. He is a created being.”

48) Translators made a wise choice in using the word “messenger.”

49) If we dig a little more deeply into the text, we see Jesus and the word angel being used together.

50) I know this passage does not say the Angel of Jehovah.

51) It does refer to Jesus, and it uses the Hebrew word else translated “angel.”

52) With this passage and all the others previously given, we have a pretty good case for identifying the AOJ.

53) All the evidence we can assemble indicates the ANGEL OF THE LORD was Jesus.

a) The Bible tells us that Jesus was involved in creation (Col. 1:16-17).

b) After creation Jesus did not sit around and wait till the first century.

c) He was involved in the world; He was involved in the lives of Old Testament characters.

d) In fact, Jesus did things that actually helped prepare the way for Himself.

e) Is that not an amazing fact?

f) In Jesus’ life we find statements about Him serving man.

g) If He worked as the Angel of Jehovah, He served man in some ways before the incarnation.

54) This is a stunning thought. Jesus helped people before the first century.

55) Then He came to live on the earth for several years and finally die a shameful death.

56) There can be, therefore, no doubt about God’s love for man.

57) When the Bible says “for God so loved the world,” the words mean exactly what they say.