| “ | And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. |
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| ~ Exodus 3:2-4. |
| “ | And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. | „ |
| ~ Exodus 3:14. |
The Angel of the Lord, also called the Angel of Yahweh, the Burning Bush and the Pillar of Fire is an enigmatic and recurring figure in the texts of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament.
Such an entity appears several times to famous biblical figures such as Abraham, Jacob and Moses, referring to itself as Yahweh or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or just as the Almighty God.
However, because Yahweh appears as a physical being, It is in a sense God in human form, leading many to believe that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ Himself in his preexistence. Furthermore, there are passages where Yahweh and His Angel are separate, although everything implies that they are the same entity.
Which only reinforces that perhaps there are two Yahweh acting in the plot of the Bible's narrative, one being invisible and spiritual and the other being physical and speaking face to face with his prophets.
Base Information[]
| “ | And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; | „ |
| ~ Genesis 35:11. |
Hagar[]
The Angel of the Lord first appears in the book of Genesis, after the wife of the Patriarch Abraham, Sarah, expels her maidservant Hagar into the desert because she is pregnant.
Hagar in fear ends up stopping at a well, where the Angel of the Lord appeared to her asking the woman where she came from and where she was going, and advised her to return home and promised her that she would have so many offspring that she would not be able to tell and her son's name would be Ishmael. Hagar in reply said, "thou art the God who sees me."
Abraham[]
Later, the Angel of the Lord reappears, this time to Abraham, and accompanied by two other Angels of unknown identity. The Angel appeared to Abraham telling him that he would have a son after one year.
In addition, the Angel also mentioned that he had heard the outcry coming from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that he would destroy the cities if there were not at least fifty righteous people among that multitude of sinners.
However, after Abraham's insistence, the number was lowered to just ten people. Unfortunately, there weren't even ten good people in those cities, which resulted in their destruction at the hands of God.
Jacob[]
The other time the Angel appeared to Abraham was to Jacob during the time he was at Bethel, where Jacob had a dream of a ladder going from earth to heaven, where angels descended and ascended by it. At the top of that ladder, the Lord was talking to him. Later, the Angel of the Lord appeared again to Jacob saying "I am the God of Bethel" and told the Patriarch to return to his homeland.
Later, Jacob meets the Angel of the Lord in the desert and fights him, ending up with the Angel blessing him, and when Jacob returned from the desert, Jacob said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
Moses[]
The greatest and perhaps greatest apparition of the Angel of the Lord was to Moses, in the book of Exodus, when He appeared to the Prophet through a Burning Bush and revealed to Moses the holy name of God, the "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh", which he translated it would be something like "I Am That I Am" or "I Will Be Who I Will Be".
It is believed that the Pillar of Fire that appeared to the people of Israel in the desert is the same entity that manifested itself in the Burning Bush, the Divine Presence of God, that is, the Angel of the Lord.
We are later shown the Angel of the Lord and Yahweh as distinct beings, with Yahweh mentioning that His name is in His Angel. Something that for many would be like blasphemy, since the name of God could not belong to anyone other than God. However, it is asserted by the Creator Himself that the Angel of the Lord has His Name, indicating that the Angel is more than just an angel.
Other apparitions[]
Apparitions of the Angel of the Lord are found throughout the Hebrew Bible, as in the book of Judges, where the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's parents and delivers the message that they will have a son who will not have his hair cut because he is a son consecrated to God. In this apparition, the Angel of the Lord is described as a man of majestic appearance, who did not tell him where he came from or what his name was.
In the book of Zechariah, the Angel of the Lord once again appears and rebukes a Ha-Satan in the name of God, Yahweh, saying "The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan". In the book of Joshua we can also observe at the moment when Joshua worships the Angel of the Lord, the Angel accepts the worship (see Joshua 5:14), which something for the angels is not acceptable, because only God should be worshipped (see Apocalypse 22:9).
Speculations[]
Because the Angel of the Lord often refers to himself as Yahweh, God Almighty, God of Bethel, and other biblical figures also refer to him as God, many believe that the Angel of the Lord is Yahweh Himself.
Furthermore, because the Angel is, in general, a theophonic physical manifestation of God the Father, many believe that he is actually Jesus Christ himself in his preexistence, something that sometimes seems to be reinforced even by Jesus.
However, there is also the hypothesis that the Angel of the Lord is the Archangel Gabriel, since Gabriel is the angel of the messages, serving as God's intercessor with humanity, in addition to having already been called the Angel of the Lord in the Christian Bible in the new testament. However, as Gabriel is just an angel, he would not accept the worship of another human being, which makes it more difficult to assert that the Messenger is the Angel of the Lord.
Description[]
Appearance[]
| “ | In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. | „ |
| ~ Isaiah 6:1-2. |
| “ | Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? | „ |
| ~ Job 38:1-2. |
The Angel of the Lord appears in different forms in the Old Testament. For example, when he appeared to Moses, the Angel of the Lord appeared as a Burning Bush, whose fire did not burn the bush.
When he appeared to Isaiah, the Angel of the Lord appeared as a man seated on a throne of glory surrounded by angels, the Seraphim. During the period he led the people of Israel through the desert, the Angel of the Lord manifested himself as a pillar of fire.
As for Job, the Angel of the Lord appeared like a great whirlwind with a voice of thunder.
Personality[]
The Angel of the Lord is a very enigmatic figure, having little demonstration of his emotions, serving only as a messenger and intercessor between God and humanity. However, he proved to be a merciful one, as when Abraham urged him to consider only ten people enough for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah not to be destroyed, he accepted, though unfortunately there weren't even ten kind people in those cities.
The Angel of the Lord also showed to be wise and serious in the times he appeared, besides showing to know the future. If the Angel of the Lord is indeed God (the Father or the Son), then the Angel of the Lord is the greatest and the true source of light, love, grace and justice. The source of all that is holy, pure and divine. However, just like God, the Angel of the Lord also possesses divine wrath, as when he took the life of the firstborn in Egypt due to Pharaoh's refusal to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt.
Heroic acts[]
- It appeared to Hagar in his moment of greatest despair and fear and comforted and blessed her that she would have a great many descendants.
- It blessed Jacob when he was in danger of being killed by his brother, Esau.
- Freed the people of Israel from Egypt.
- Guided Israel through the desert and protected them for 40 years.
Quotes[]
| “ | And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. | „ |
| ~ Genesis 31:11-13. |
| “ | And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? | „ |
| ~ Judges 13:17-18 (KJV). |
| “ | Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? |
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| ~ Job 38:1-13 (KJV). |
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Trivia[]
- Because the Jews respect the name of God, Yahweh, they replaced the name Yahweh with Adonai, which means The Lord or Lord of Lords. This was also used in the Angel of the Lord, its true title being the Angel of Yahweh.
- Some believe that the Angel of the Lord could be the Seraph Metatron. However, Metatron is not canonical in the Hebrew and Christian Bible. While others believe the angel facing Jacob in the wilderness is the angel Sammael, another non-canonical Bible angel.
- The hypothesis that it is a manifestation of God in human form is very similar to Hinduism's concept of Avatar.
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