IN 1000 WORDS: Who Is The Angel Of The Lord?

Just who (or what) is the Angel of the Lord? Was he a ghost or a demon? Was he a legend, a great military leader that was overly hyped up over time? Was he, perhaps, a mysterious wisp of fog that was mistaken as being something more? Were those who claimed to have seen him simply hallucinating on wild mushrooms? Of course, some of these claims are rather outlandish, and all of them are false. However, each of them have been posited by different people over time. This is why it is important to develop a clear understanding of who and what the angel of the Lord is so that we are not led astray by hollow and deceptive philosophy (Colossians 2:8), or by false teachers (2 Peter 2:1; 1 Timothy 6:3-4a), and so we can know the truth of His word for ourselves (John 8:32; 17:17). The first step to identifying the angel of the Lord is to understand what an angel is, and what an angel is not.

            Contrary to twenty-first century notions, angels do not exist to make us happy, healthy, and successful. They do not offer us spirituality without God or Jesus. They are not nonjudgmental. They do not make us feel unconditionally loved. They do not empower us to accomplish otherwise impossible missions. They do not recognize that we are divine (because we are not divine). They do not provide a spiritual balance to Western society’s secularism and materialism. They do not give assurance to all people about life after death. They are not merely a good luck charm. And, lastly, they are not there to protect us from all physical harm, even if we aren't believers. So what, then, is an angel?

            According to Hebrews 1:14, angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to do service for the sake of those who inherit salvation.” According to Herbert Lockyer, they are “supernatural beings whose abode is heaven and who function as the unseen agents in the execution of the will of God”.[1] Scripture seems to allude to the idea that angels are organized into rank, and that the kingdom of heaven is, in fact, a hierarchy. There is only one angel whose name and rank are both given in Scripture, and that is the archangel Michael. Jude 1:9 alludes to the idea that he is of a very high rank, as well as to the possibility that Satan was of equal or lesser rank before he rebelled against God and fell from heaven. There is one other angel whose rank is given in Scripture, and that is the captain of the host of the Lord (Joshua 5:13-15). However, what about the angel of the Lord?

            There are three possible identities as to who the angel of the Lord could be that are all supported by scripture. The first possibility is that he is either a special angel who intercedes for man to God (Zechariah 1:9-14), who comes with full divine authority and can therefore speak for God (even in the first person). The second possibility is that he is God Himself (a theophany) (Genesis 12:17, 19; Exodus 3:2, 4; 13:21-22; 14:19). The third possibility is that he is the pre-incarnate form of the second person of the trinity, the messiah, Christ.

            Is the angel of the Lord a special angel who intercedes for man to God? Zechariah 1:9-14 offers the clearest depiction of the angel of the Lord that we have in scripture. In this passage, the angel of the Lord is seen as mediating between God and man. Zechariah asks the angel a question, then two others speak to the angel. Next, the angel speaks to God, and God speaks comforting words to the angel. Finally, the angel returns to Zechariah and speaks to him what God said. There is no mistaking that this passage depicts the angel of the Lord as an intercessor between God and man.

            Is the angel of the Lord actually God? The phrases “God”, “angel of God”, “angel of the Lord” and “the LORD” are used interchangeably at various points throughout the Old Testament. It first occurs in Exodus 3:2-4 when Moses saw the burning bush, in Exodus 13:21-22 when “the LORD” traveled in the form of a pillar of fire or a cloud, leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and then in 14:19 when “the angel of God” was described as that pillar of fire. These passages do not make it undoubtedly clear that the angel of the Lord is actually God Himself, but many have drawn it as an inference.

            The third possibility is that the angel of the Lord is what one might call a christophany; that is, the angel of the Lord is visible manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ. Exodus 23:20-22 states “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you... Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion…” Many have taken this verse to imply that the angel of the Lord is capable of forgiving sins. Others have said that Malachi 3:1 refers to the angel of the Lord messenger of the covenant. The problem with this is that the verse does not refer to the angel of the Lord, nor does it say who the messenger of the covenant is. The primary argument behind this claim is the lack of any New Testament appearances of the Angel of the Lord. However, there are no scriptural references to directly verify the angel of the Lord as being the pre-incarnate Christ.

            So, who is the angel of the Lord? Is he a special angel who intercedes for man to God? Is he actually God? Or, is the angel of the Lord actually the visible manifestation of the pre-incarnate second person of the trinity (Christ)? Of all the choices that have been posited by scholars and theologians over time, the one that can be seen the clearest from scripture is that the angel of the Lord was a special angel, sent with a special commission, who interceded between God and man.

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[1] Lockyer, Herbert. Everything Jesus Taught. New York, NY: Harpercollins, 1984.

Prayer: Why Are Some People Healed While Others Are Not?

James 5:15-16 states “..the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him… The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” However, if this verse rang true 100% of the time, there would be no need for hospitals, modern medicine, or medical treatment of any kind for that matter. The simple truth is that not everyone is healed in response to prayer. Why is this so? Many people have turned away from God because He did not heal them in response to the prayers offered up by themselves and others. Why would God not specially provide miraculous healing for everyone who calls upon His name? To understand this, we must understand miracles and special providence.

Special providence is defined as God's intervention into the regular course of things in order to produce a variation that would not have occurred otherwise but which does not violate the possibilities of natural law. In other words, special providence is God’s supernatural intervention into the world through indirect, natural means. Some have falsely stated that God works either only in nature, or only in history, or only in “important” matters. Some have gone as far as viewing God simply as a “good luck” charm in their view of providence.

A miracle is defined as God’s supernatural intervention into the world through direct, supernatural means. Miracles are signs (evidence) of the divine origin of the miracle worker. In other words, God uses miracles to validate His spokesmen. Miracles are designed to verify His word as being true. They are for our benefit (that we might understand and believe) but ultimately for His glory (that we may repent of our sins and turn to Him). God doesn’t perform miracles without a reason. They are always used as part of His special plan for His name’s sake. Some have falsely viewed miracles as unexplained natural events, the inevitable result of God’s mercy and compassion, or arbitrary phenomena.

 God's special plan for His glorification is to establish His kingdom over the earth (Matthew 20:21; Mark 10:37; Psalm 47:2). Ultimately, this plan will prevail because God works out all things for His own ends (Proverbs 16:24). God desires for sinners to turn to Him in repentance; He wants us to live in relationship with Him so that through us, His Kingdom can be established on earth. So, it can be inferred that the reason for which God would intervene in the natural order of things in a special and unique way would be to further His kingdom here on earth.

God does that which is beneficial to the purpose of furthering His kingdom here on earth. If healing a person will further that plan, then He will certainly do so. If not, then there is no reason for Him to do so. God cares less about our health and comfort than He cares about sinners turning to Him in repentance. Perhaps God will heal a person of a physical sickness, disease, or ailment so that they will go out and share their testimony (and preach the Gospel through it). After all, a testimony is a powerful thing (Rev 12:11), and stories of physical healing are quite apt to elicit an emotional response from the hearer. However (and this is very important to understand), not all sickness is physical.

Sometimes the physical illness is just the surface, a tangible thing meant to call our attention to the intangible: a deeper, spiritual sickness that needs to be healed. If a person is not in a right relationship with God, what good is there in bringing life to the temporary (physical) while the permanent (spiritual) suffers? Physical healing, at best, is only temporary. Every human being will eventually die, but the soul will go on for eternity; whether with God in eternal life or separated from Him in eternal torment, the soul lingers on forever. Therefore, the greater need is not for physical healing, but for spiritual healing and restoration.

The need for spiritual healing far outweighs the need for physical healing. Things that happen in the spiritual will sometimes be made manifest in the physical. If a person does not have Christ dwelling in their heart, it opens the door for demonic oppression and possession in their life (Matt 12:44-45; Luke 11:24-26). There is a spiritual void in every person’s life that must be filled by something. If it is not filled by Christ, it will be filled by demons. Therefore, sometimes the physical sickness is merely the fruit; it is the surface manifestation of a deeper, spiritual sickness that must be dealt with first.

Every time Jesus healed a person in Scripture, it was because they had faith and truly believed that He could heal them. They did not doubt Him in their heart. Though the passage speaks in the context of asking God for wisdom, James 1:6-7 is still applicable to the context of asking God for healing. If a person asks God for healing, but they doubt His ability to heal them (or whether He will heal them) in their heart, then God is not going to heal them. Sometimes God will intentionally delay an answer to prayer (Luke 18:7) in order to test the faith of the one praying. He doesn’t test it for His own benefit, but for ours, that we may be strengthened by exercising those spiritual muscles, so that when harder battles eventually come our way, we will be strong enough to overcome them.

Ultimately, it is impossible to predict the mind and will of God. Isaiah 40:28 makes this clear “…His understanding no one can fathom.” Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16 echo this thought. To state that human beings have any capacity to do so would be foolish and arrogant. His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). It is not our place to say whether a healing would be in the will of God or not. If someone is not healed in response to prayer, there is no reason to become discouraged or dismayed. The true test of a person’s faith is not whether they are healed or not, but whether they would remain faithful to God even if He did not heal them.