This work develops the identity of the Angel of YHVH or Jehovah in the Old Testament. The result has some disturbing implications for the teachings of modern Christianity, including those of Herbert W Armstrong and those of Jehovah's Witnesses.

E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

This work was based on the works Creation: From Anthropomorphic Theology to Theomorphic Anthropology (B5) and the papers The Elect as Elohim (No. 1) and also The God We Worship (No. 2). The paper helps explain the Statement of Beliefs of the Christian Faith (A1) on which it is also based. The purpose of the paper is to explain the place of the Great Angel of the OT who appeared to the Patriarchs and who gave the Law to Moses.

In the churches of God an error entered the church in the last decades of the twentieth century that had serious implications for the theology of the Churches of God and which was used to undermine their doctrinal position of history in major elements of the churches. This error, which was in fact very serious, was to emerge in the branch of the church that became known as the Worldwide Church of God.

There was a series of teachings about the nature of God and Christ that made various claims about each. Among these teachings were the following points:

So, there were several concepts taught. These were that there were two God Beings which had always existed; that these were named "God" and "the Word" later becoming known as the "Father" and the "Son" after Christ had appeared on earth (see the discussion in Appendix 1 for evidence that the Fatherhood of God and Sonship of Christ were known prior to Christ’s coming in flesh); that Christ was the God of ancient Israel, being known as YHVH; that no one really even knew the other God Being, God the Father (as he was "later" called), existed until Christ appeared on earth and revealed his existence; that Christ was Melchisedek, and thus lived on earth at the time of Abraham, but was without father, mother, descent, and so forth (see the discussion in Appendix 2 and also the paper Melchisedek (No. 128) for proof that Christ was not Melchisedek).

Of course the Bible teaches that there is only one God. Now to say that Jesus Christ or the Logos was one God Being and that God the Father was a second God Being meant that there were 1+1=2 God Beings or 2 Gods -- not One God. To explain this seeming contradiction it was said that Elohim was a uni-plural noun and that God and the Word were one Elohim or that they were "one God" in the sense that the word God in this context meant God Family. Further, the term God was explained to have several meanings: it could refer to either member of the "one God Family" as a distinct personage, or it could refer to all the members of the "God Family" as a composite structure, or it could refer to God the Father when speaking of "God and the Word".

These things were more or less accepted by most who came into the WCG. They were after all presented with a variety of supporting Scriptures. They were, allegedly, readily taught by the ministry. However, the doctrines of the nature of God were as a rule avoided. There were as well a number of conflicting teachings, which were inexplicable in light of the previous claims. The long Bible Correspondence Course of the WCG right up until the last issue under Joseph W Tkach Snr., after the death of Herbert Armstrong, stated also that the term for God was Eloah in the Singular and the plural term elohim was derived from that singular form. This is a true Statement. Also the church never prayed to anyone but the Father as God in the name of the Son Jesus Christ, and thus no conflict in worship was introduced. The doctrine of the nature of God was not commonly taught.

However, these explanations also raised many questions. For a start, the explanation of how 2 God Beings = 1 God was logically reliant on the extension of the status of the term God. It was quite obvious from a number of passages in the New Testament that when the "one God" of the Bible was spoken about, it was in reference to God the Father:

The explanation of how Christ came to reveal the Father and that the Father's existence was more or less unknown until Christ was manifested in the flesh was also totally false. The explanation contradicts numerous passages in the New Testament where it was taken for granted that God the Father was the God of the Old Testament, the God of Israel, and that He sent his servant, Jesus, to us. For example:

Now consider. If God the Father was unknown to Israel prior to Christ coming as a man then these statements wouldn't make sense because they appeal to the God of Israel as the one who validated Christ's ministry. One would instead expect Peter to have said something like, "Jesus was the God of our Fathers come in flesh and he revealed to us that there exists another higher God in heaven who is the Most High God over all."

In fact, if you think about it, the entire New Testament is built on the understanding that God the Father was the God of Israel and Jesus came as his Messiah and Servant as was prophesied. If it was really correct that God the Father was unknown prior to Christ's coming that would have been a stunning revelation to the Jews and early Christians. One would expect to find this point explained over and over again in the New Testament. However, that is not what we find. Rather, God the Father's existence is taken for granted.

It was the identity and role of Jesus Christ which caused such turmoil among the Jews and which needed to be explained. Jesus was the Son of God - the Son of the God of the Old Testament (Lk. 1:30-35). He was the Chosen of God (Lk. 9:35; 23:35) -- the Servant of God (Mat. 12:18). God who in former times spoke through His prophets, in these last days spoke through His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). Without a doubt God the Father was known about in the Old Testament.

Certainly Jesus said that:

but this is not the equivalent of saying that no one knew about the existence of the Father in the Old Testament. It simply means that no one, at any time, had ever heard His voice or seen His form. How this could be the case will be explained below.

Another problem that is quite plain in the OT is that the term YHVH was not used exclusively for Christ in the Old Testament. Yes, there are passages in which YHVH is used referring to the one who became Christ as we will see. But there are many, many other passages where YHVH is used in such a way that it could obviously only be referring to God the Father. For example:

Here Moses declares that YHVH will raise up a prophet for Israel to obey. That prophet was Christ as Acts 7:37 makes clear. Now Christ didn't raise himself up - the passages we read from Acts 2 and 3 make it clear that God raised up Christ. So clearly YHVH is used in reference to God the Father, and this was something proclaimed by Moses to all of Israel.

Here we read of YHVH and His Anointed. In verse 7, we read of YHVH and His begotten Son. Obviously YHVH in this Psalm must be referring to God the Father. A similar explanation must fit Psalm 110:1 where we read:

In the many "Servant" prophecies of Christ in Isaiah (beginning with chapter 42 and onwards), YHVH sends His Servant. For example:

Clearly, in the preceding passages, YHVH must refer to God the Father. One last passage to note is Zechariah 13:7 where we read:

This is the "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered" prophecy to which Christ referred and which he applied to himself as the Good Shepherd (Mat. 26:31). Yet this prophecy is spoken by YHVH of Hosts about His shepherd, the man who is YHVH's "fellow" (KJV). Once again YHVH must be God the Father and not Christ.

The WCG taught these and other errors. Those who questioned the errors of the church were made to feel that any incoherence in the explanation was the fault of the individual and questions were suppressed if they arose. This behavior led to a very serious theological crisis not only in WCG but in other churches as the errors were used to insert the Trinitarian structure in Binitarian disguise and then attack the theology of the church. This insertion of error and subsequent Trinitarian theology was to happen in the WCG and then the Church of God (Seventh Day) in its branches as it had been used in the Seventh Day Baptist Church from the USA and also in the Seventh Day Adventist Churches with them. In short this theological incoherence and failure to understand the nature of God was to be the theological downfall of the churches of God at the end of the Twentieth century.

The Churches of God in the first and second century were Unitarian as our records show beyond doubt. They taught that Christ was the Great being who gave the law to Moses at Sinai and was with Israel in the Wilderness. This was proclaimed by Justin Martyr in his First Apology ca 154 CE ((LXIII, ANF, I, 184) who said he was the Angel of God and the Son of God and as a God. It was again proclaimed in the great Unitarian defense by Irenaeus ca. 195 (Against Heresies), where he stated that originally God had nothing coeval with Himself. Christ and all other beings came into existence subsequently (see the paper Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127)). However, all theologians of the church of every persuasion never doubted for one minute that Christ was preexistent as the being of the OT who was both Angel and Elohim and they proclaimed that it was the destiny of the elect to become elohim, as Christ was elohim as a son of God in power from his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4) (cf the paper The Elect as Elohim (No. 1)).

In order to understand what the Bible teaches us about God and how and through whom he chooses to interact with us, we have to fix several foundational points in mind.

Firstly, there is only one true God. There is only one personage who, by virtue of what He intrinsically is, can rightfully be called the one true God. Jesus identified this personage as his Father and said that eternal life is dependent on understanding this and being able to distinguish between this Being and Jesus Christ whom He sent (Jn. 17:3). He alone has intrinsic immortality (1Tim. 6:16). He alone is intrinsically holy (Rev. 15:4).

A second foundational point is to understand that no man at any time has ever seen or heard the voice of the one true God:

See the paper The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243) for an examination of this matter also.

Instead of dealing with humanity in the first person, God interacted with humans through one or more mediators or messengers. And this brings us to the third foundational point we need to bear in mind. God revealed himself to peoples of Semitic background and culture, not Greek background and culture. In the West we tend to think in terms of Greek ideas and concepts. The Semitic peoples had a totally different way of looking at things. Unless we learn to appreciate their way of thinking we will become terribly confused when we read the Bible. The concepts of Trinitarianism and Binitarianism have arisen, in part, because of a failure on the part of the Greek and Western mindset to understand the Hebrew mindset and, hence, the language of the Bible.

This last point is especially true when we come to look at the concepts of names and titles applied to messengers in Hebrew culture. The Hebrew term for messenger in the Old Testament is the noun mal'ak. This term appears 213 times altogether in the Old Testament. It is derived from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy. It is this word mal'ak which is translated as angel in our English Bibles. Because of our backgrounds, whenever we read the word angel in the Bible, a set of preconceived ideas come to mind. The word angel is a "loaded word" if you like, whereas all it really means is messenger.

In the Greek New Testament, a similar arrangement holds. The word for messenger in the Greek is aggelos {ang’-el-os} from which, in fact, we get the English word angel. But once again all it means is messenger. (Aggelos is derived from angello meaning to deliver a message. It is used of both humans and angels. In Rev. 21:17, after the Millennium, the terms man and angel become synonymous).

In the Old Testament, mal'ak denoted those sent over a great distance by an individual - for example Genesis 32:3 where Jacob sent messengers to Esau. (Note that in Gen, 32:1-2 the mal’ak of God (Elohim) meets Jacob. Thus, in verses 1-2 mal'ak is used to refer to supernatural messengers sent by God and in verse 3 used to refer to human messengers sent by Jacob).

One or more mal'ak could also be sent by a community (Num. 21:21) in order to communicate a message. As a representative of a king, the mal’ak might have performed the function of a diplomat (cf. 1Kings 20:1-2). The mal'ak or messenger occupied an important place in Semitic culture. Honour to the messenger signified honour to the sender, and the opposite was also true (cf. Jn. 5:23).

God sent various types of messengers. Firstly, there were prophetic human messengers (2Chron. 36:15-16). Secondly, there were also supernatural messengers of God sent with a particular message or function (Gen.19:1; Ps. 91:11). In the case of these latter messengers the term mal’ak is usually translated angel for the benefit of the English reader so that he or she might understand that a supernatural messenger from heaven was intended in the original Hebrew. However, the point we are making is that angel simply means messenger and we should try and avoid "loading" the word angel with unnecessary preconceived ideas.

Now, of all the mal'ak sent by God, by far the most significant and relevant to this paper is the one who was designated by the phrases Mal'ak YHVH, or "the Angel of the LORD" in our English Bibles, and Mal'ak Elohim, that is, "the Angel of God." [This is often more correctly translated as "the Angel of the Gods" but this issue is not dealt with in this paper.] These phrases are always used in the singular. They refer to the special Angel [or Messenger] who bore the Presence of God. Because he carried the authority of God and represented God, he was frequently called YHVH. This is another concept acceptable to the Semitic mind but generally foreign to our way of thinking. A Hebrew thinker was able to call a messenger representing God by the name God while also recognising that the messenger was only a messenger, and not God in first person.

For example, Israel called their human judges elohim because they represented The Elohim or The God (i.e. God the Father), but that didn't mean that the judges were actually God in person:

The gods mentioned here are the judges of Israel. When a person appeared before a judge in a Hebrew court they literally addressed the judge as God because the judge represented God and carried His authority. (It is not uncommon in our courts to refer to the judge as Your Worship. Quite possibly the practice is related to the early Semitic equivalent). And so it was that the Mal'ak of YHVH carried the name of YHVH and was actually referred to as YHVH because he carried the authority of YHVH. [There is also the related issue that YHVH means He who causes to be in the third person and is used by those subordinate to YHVH of Hosts since He literally causes them to be (i.e. to exist). See the footnotes to the New Oxford Annotated Bible RSV, p. 70]. Further, the Mal'ak of YHVH was also called Elohim because he represented the one true God who was the Elohim of heaven.

Note: Some might object to this delegation of the names of God on the grounds of Isaiah 44:5 and elsewhere. However these passages are dealing with the one true God being unique and without equal. The concept of lesser beings carrying the authority and, hence, the name of God is clearly supported in the New Testament in Revelation 3:12.

As will become clear, the Bible indicates the Angel or Mal'ak of YHVH to be Christ manifesting himself in visible form.

As we will see this aspect is also reflected in the text in Psalm 45:6-7 and Hebrews 1:8-9 which is examined below.

The term angel is also used to translate the word for Elohim as God where it is used in the OT Hebrew. In Psalm 8 for example when the Septuagint was translated from the Hebrew into Greek the word elohim, referring clearly to the sons of God and Messiah was rendered as ‘aggelos or messengers in the Greek text by the LXX and that usage was transferred into the NT text in the Book of Hebrews.

The text should read For thou hast (for a time) made him a little lower than the Elohim (Gods) and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

That is the meaning in Hebrew and that is the intention of the book of Hebrews in chapters 1 and 2 in dealing with the concept. It is rendered in the English as Angels purely because of Trinitarian theology. The Hebrews understood that the elohim were the sons of God. The Messengers of God were the Sons of God and rendered as Messengers in the Greek translations for theological purposes of monotheism.

This problem is examined in the paper Psalm 8 (No. 14)).

The Preexistence of Christ was taken for granted and is proclaimed in the theology of the early church repeatedly. It is explained in the paper The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243)).

Let us now examine this being in the OT who was the Angel of God

The Angel of YHVH is first mentioned in the story of the maidservant Hagar fleeing from her mistress Sarai, in Genesis 16. As Hagar wanders in the wilderness, the Angel meets her. Significantly, the Angel promises that he will bless and multiply her descendants. Hence the Angel is given power and authority by God to extend blessings to humanity. At the conclusion of this encounter, the Angel is called "the YHVH who spoke to her" - [the Interlinear Bible translates this as "And she called the name of Jehovah, the One speaking to her, You, a God of vision!" The phrase the One speaking to her indicates that there are multiple beings which carry the title YHVH. It was that particular YHVH who spoke to her, who saw her wandering in the wilderness and went to her aid] - and she calls him, "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees" (v. 13). Yet the Angel also refers to YHVH in the third person. Thus, in this example we begin to see how the Angel of YHVH carries the title YHVH but also speaks on the behalf of his YHVH whom he represents.

Significantly, Christ identifies himself as the One who searches the hearts and sees the intents of the mind in the New Testament. In Revelation 2:18,25 we read:

When Hagar flees the second time, the Angel speaks to her again, and repeats his promise to make her son a great nation. Here we read for the first time the Angel's second title, the Angel of God. It is significant that the terms God [Elohim] and Angel of God [Elohim] are used interchangeably just as YHVH and Angel of YHVH are used interchangeably. God [Elohim] hears and the Angel speaks. The Angel says he will bless Ishmael, but he also says he is speaking on behalf of God [Elohim]. This points out that there is a hierarchy in the Elohim. The Angel carries the title Elohim and speaks on behalf of the Elohim he represents.

In the example of Hagar and the Angel we saw that the Angel of YHVH was called YHVH because he carried the authority of YHVH and spoke on His behalf. This concept of YHVH being a distributed title (i.e. a title applying to many beings, not just YHVH of Hosts who is the one true God) appears in numerous places. (For a discussion of titles in the NT, see Appendix 3). For example, YHVH directly appeared to Abraham.

This YHVH could not be the one true God for no man has ever seen God or heard His voice (cf. NT passages referred to previously). Yet he speaks as God Almighty. The Hebrew term for Almighty is Shadday and means Most Powerful. There can be only one Being who is the Most Powerful and that is God, the Father, who is greater than all, including Christ:

In the New Testament the term Almighty is reserved exclusively for God the Father. The Lord God Almighty is our Father, and Jesus Christ is our brother:

In Revelation the Lord God Almighty, God the Father, is distinguished from his Christ; He is the object of a song of praise of the Lamb; Christ treads out the winepress of His wrath (i.e. executes judgment for his Father); and both the Almighty and the Lamb form the Temple in the New Heavens and New Earth:

Since no man has ever seen the one true God (cf. verses cited in Section 1.2) [this is well recognised by commentators. See the quotation from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia in Appendix 4], and God the Father is God Almighty, and the Scripture cannot be broken (Jn. 10:35), we are forced to conclude that the YHVH who spoke to Abraham and the Patriarchs was another YHVH apart from God Almighty (the Father), but one who spoke on behalf of God Almighty, or El Shadday. That is, Abraham dealt with an Elohim who spoke directly on behalf of God, and because he carried the authority of God he also carried his name YHVH as a title. Christ explained that he only spoke on behalf of God:

This concept of YHVH as a distributed title becomes even more apparent in Genesis 18 when three beings appear to Abraham, all being termed YHVH:

In the original Hebrew text the word rendered here as "lord" was in fact YHVH. Abraham addressed all three "men" as YHVH. However, when the Hebrew text was being fixed by the Sopherim who were the official revisers under Ezra and Nehemiah, they altered this word and 133 other occurrences of YHVH to read Adonai or Lord. (Their alterations were recorded in the margins of the text.) Allegedly, the reason for making these alterations was out of reverence for the Divine Name YHVH, but it seems more probable the real reason was that the Sopherim were concerned about YHVH being applied to other entities apart from YHVH Most High. Similar alterations apply in verses 27,30,32. (A complete list of these alterations is found in Appendix 32 of the Companion Bible).

In verses 16-22, one of the men, now termed YHVH, chooses to stay on with Abraham while the other two leave for Sodom. Yet this YHVH refers to YHVH in the third person as blessing Abraham, hence further indicating a multiple number of YHVH:

This YHVH, representing YHVH in heaven came down to see if the outcry against Sodom was true. In Chapter 19 the two "men", now termed angels (mal'ak), go to Sodom. In verse 18, Lot addresses them as YHVH:

The angels tell Lot YHVH has sent them to destroy Sodom:

In verse 24 the angels, termed YHVH, rain fire down from YHVH in heaven:

Thus, we see the term YHVH applied without distinction to no less than four Beings in these accounts: the three "men" (evidently Christ and two accompanying angels) and God in heaven. Clearly, YHVH is a distributed title applied to those who represent God the Father to humans. Yahovah in Heaven can be taken as Yahovah of Hosts.

The next mention of the Angel is in the incident of Abraham being asked to slay Isaac. In this case the Angel intervenes to prevent Isaac's death:

The Angel here speaks both as an entity in his own right ("for now I know ...") and for YHVH, God of heaven ("By myself I have sworn, says YHVH ...").

It is interesting to note that in commending Abraham the Angel said, "for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." From this we learn that the Angel was the Elohim who instructed Abraham to slay his son in verses 1-2, and that the Angel did not know what Abraham would do but discovered it through observing Abraham's actions. Thus, the Angel does not have absolute foreknowledge or prescience. This is exactly the case with Christ. There are some things that Christ does not know and which must be revealed to him by his God and Father who does have absolute prescience:

[Note - This is yet another proof that Christ is not the one true God. The one true God, God the Father, declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:9-10). It is His purpose and mystery which is being unfolded on earth (Eph. 1:9-10; 3:9). Christ receives knowledge of these things by revelation from the Father (Rev. 1:1).]

This matter of the sacrifice of Isaac is examined in detail with its implication also for Judaism, and also Islam and the Koran in the papers The Angel and Abraham’s Sacrifice (No. 71); and Genesis 22, Judaism, Islam and the Sacrifice of Isaac (No. 244).

Later, when Abraham sent his servant to fetch a wife for Isaac, he promised the servant that YHVH's Angel would be with the servant to bless his journey. From his comments, Abraham understood the distinction between YHVH the God of heaven, and the Angel or Mal'ak who was this YHVH's Messenger and through whom YHVH dealt with him. The servant acknowledged the Angel’s lead as being equivalent to YHVH's lead. Thus, the Angel truly represented God:

In the New Testament Christ fulfils a similar role of leading, protecting, blessing and representing God to us:

In this section, three profound qualities of the Angel of YHVH are revealed:

When he fled from the face of Esau to his Uncle Laban in Haran, Jacob experienced a powerful dream near the city of Luz. In his dream, he saw YHVH stand above a ladder ascending to heaven and bless him. YHVH promised to be with Jacob, to keep him, not to leave him, and to bring him back to his homeland. Jacob vowed a vow to YHVH, accepting YHVH as his God:

Having seen a Being who names himself YHVH in a dream, years later Jacob experiences another dream in which the Angel of God speaks to him and says, "I am the God of Bethel," and "you made a vow to me." Thus, again the Angel is connected with the title YHVH. It is noteworthy that the text refers to the Angel as Mal'ak HaElohim. The preposition ha means the. That is, the Angel is identified as the Angel of The God. Thus, although termed Elohim, the Angel is the Mal’ak or Messenger of a higher Elohim, who is The Elohim, that is, The God. It is also significant that the Angel calls himself the El Bethel or God of the House of God:

In the New Testament, Christ is referred to as God being anointed by his God (who is the Father). He is also the Son and High Priest over his Father's house:

In the passage that follows, the God [El] of Bethel reappears in order to bless and instruct Jacob. From the preceding passages and Jacob's later comments in Genesis 48:15-16, it is evident that the God of Bethel must have been the Angel of YHVH. The parallels between his activities here and his earlier appearances to Hagar and Abraham are obvious:

Again, as with Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 28:3) the Angel speaks as El Shadday, thus indicating it is El Shadday's Mal’ak or Messenger who is speaking.

On returning to meet Esau, "a man" meets Jacob and wrestles with him to day-break. Jacob equates this experience as being that of seeing God [Elohim] "face to face," and names the place, "Face of God." Clearly, this "man" bore the presence of God in himself.

Centuries later, the prophet Hosea was inspired to recall this incident. Jacob is said to have struggled with God [Elohim]. In the next verse this God or Elohim is equated to the Angel.

In Hosea 12:5 the term the Lord God of Hosts is not the usual YHVH Sabaoth. Rather, the Hebrew reads YHVH, Elohim HaSabaoth or YHVH, God of the Hosts. So the Angel is referred to as YHVH, [the] God of the Hosts. This parallels Christ as the Captain of Heaven's Armies in Joshua 5:15. (See also Mat . 24:30-31; 1Thes. 4:16; Jude 14; Rev. 19:13-14.)

The last reference to the Angel in Genesis is when Jacob blesses Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Here Jacob explicitly calls the God [Elohim] of his fathers and the God [Elohim] who fed him all his life long till that day, "the Angel who redeemed me." The connection to Christ is obvious (cf. Gal. 3:13; 4:5). In later usage, "the Angel who Redeems," became to be called, "the Angel of Redemption." Of further interest is that the term fed (as in the God who has fed) means shepherded. Clearly, the Angel of Redemption is also the Shepherd of Israel. This plainly connects him with Christ as the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:14).

Earlier Abraham told his servant that he walked before YHVH, and in the same passage distinguished YHVH from his Angel (Gen. 24:40). In Genesis 48:15-16 Jacob says that his (grand-) father Abraham walked before the Elohim who was the Angel or Mal'ak. This is not a contradiction. The Mal'ak of YHVH was the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (that is, the Elohim anointed by his Elohim, who is God Most High to be their Lord and Protector and Redeemer), but he was not the object of their worship. Rather God Almighty or El Shadday, was the one they worshipped. They approached him through his Mal’ak whom he had appointed over them. This parallels the New Testament concepts of Christians following both God and Christ and approaching God through Christ:

The Church of God from the first century has accepted that the One who spoke from the burning bush, the One who spoke the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai, the One who led Israel through the wilderness, the One who conversed with Moses in first person, was Christ before his human birth. For example, Paul wrote:

However, the Bible is explicit that it was the Angel of YHVH who did all these things and more. The early Church understood that Christ was the Mal’ak or Angel of God: (See discussion in Appendix 5 for more details).

Clear evidence of the understanding of Christ's role as the Angel of YHVH in the early Church is found in Stephen's address in Acts 7. Very important are verses 30-38. In verse 30 Moses sees the Angel and he hears the voice of the Lord. In verse 35, Moses is sent to be a deliverer with the helping hand or aid of the Angel. In verse 38, it is explicitly stated that it was the Angel of God who gave the Law to Israel through Moses. Stephen’s comments lay the foundation for further examining the Old Testament record of Moses' dealings with the Angel of YHVH:

Here is verse 38 from several modern English translations and a paraphrase.

Moses first encounters the Angel when he appears in the burning bush. As Moses turns aside to see we are told that YHVH sees and speaks. Furthermore, the speaker identifies himself as the God [Elohi - a singular form of Elohim] of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was the Angel of Redemption as we saw in Genesis 48:15-16. Lastly, the Angel sends Moses back to Egypt and promises to aid him in his efforts.

Remembering too that Stephen said that God sent Moses to deliver Israel with the helping hand of the Angel who appeared to him, it is therefore evident from this account that the terms Angel of YHVH, YHVH, and Elohim, are used interchangeably to describe the one and the same entity.

It is interesting to note in passing that the Angel who spoke for his Elohim, namely God the Father, and carried the title Elohim as one of delegated authority, also had the authority to in turn designate others - in this case Moses - to be Elohim and carry the title as a sign of delegated authority. Thus, Moses was a Mal’ak for the Angel and an Elohim to his brother Aaron. Aaron was in turn a Mal’ak for his Elohim, Moses.

In the following passages we are told that YHVH was present in the cloud as he led Israel. We are also told that it was an Angel who led Israel and that the movement of the cloud was connected to the Angel's movements. Once again the Angel of YHVH is identified with YHVH.

Paul wrote that it was Christ who led Israel through the Sea (1Cor. 10:1-4 quoted before). Therefore, the Angel of YHVH is identified unmistakably as Christ.

In Section 5.1, Acts 7:38 was cited, showing that Moses was the mediator between the Angel and Israel, receiving the Law from the Angel. A simple comparison of Acts 7:38 with the following passages shows yet again that the Angel is equated with YHVH. The concept of the Law of God being ordained and delivered by the Angels of God - that is, passed as Law by the Council of the Gods and delivered by his Mal'aks - is not dealt with in this paper, but is noted in passing from a couple of New Testament passages:

In this passage we also note that the Elders of Israel saw the Elolim of Israel who was identified earlier as the Angel of Redemption.

Earlier we saw Jacob call the Angel with whom he wrestled, the Face of God. By this he meant that God was "present" or "made visible" in the person of the Angel. In time this concept was developed more fully and the Angel came to be known as the Angel of his (or the) Presence (i.e. The Messenger of God's Presence). The Angel (who was Christ from above) was in effect functioning as Emmanuel or God with Us long before his birth as a human.

In these passages YHVH and the Angel of His Presence are distinguished from one another. This can be understood if we recognise that the existence of God the Father as the El Shadday or YHVH of Hosts, was known to Israel. They worshipped YHVH of Hosts but understood that he dealt with them and was present with them in the person of his Messenger or Angel, whom by virtue of representing YHVH of Hosts and sharing his divine nature, they also called YHVH.

Earlier we saw the example of the Mal'ak appear and speak to Abraham and Jacob as if he were El Shadday or God Almighty in the first person. In Exodus, as the Angel deals with Moses and Israel another example of this "transparency" of the Angel of YHVH as he speaks on behalf of YHVH of Hosts occurs. In this incident the "transparency" is so "clear" that his identity is lost and the illusion is created that it is YHVH of Hosts speaking in the first person.

In Exodus 33 we read that YHVH will send his Angel before Israel, but that he (YHVH) will not go with them in their midst. YHVH of Hosts (who remained in heaven) did not in first person lead Israel out of Egypt nor did he accompany Israel into the Promised Land. It was the Angel of YHVH who did these things. But in this example, the Angel so transparently communicates the words of YHVH of Hosts, we are left with the impression that it is YHVH of Hosts in first person who talks with Moses.

This situation apparently confuses Moses (remember that the Hebrew for Angel is Mal'ak and simply means messenger), not recognising it is the very Angel of YHVH with whom he is conversing who will accompany Israel. Perhaps Moses thought another Mal'ak would be assigned to go with Israel. At any rate, after pleading, YHVH of Hosts (still speaking through the Angel) reassures Moses that He will be fully present with Israel. This can only be if the Angel to go with Israel is the Angel of God's Presence.

The following passages repeat the promise that the Angel of YHVH will go before Israel. Note that he has the authority to forgive sin (but will not if provoked), and that God's name is in him. This means that the nature, authority and character of God are in the Angel. There are numerous parallels to Christ in this concept.

Not only was the Angel of YHVH the Angel of Redemption and the Angel of the Presence, but he was also understood to be the one who made the Covenant with Israel at Sinai.

In Malachi 3:1 it is prophesied that the Angel (or Messenger) of the Covenant whom Israel was seeking would come to his Temple. We know that Messenger was Christ (see Mat. 11:10, Mk. 1:2, Lk. 1:76; 7:27). Yet who did Malachi and his audience understand to be the Angel of the Covenant? They knew him as the Angel who addressed Israel in Judges 2:1-4 saying that he made the Covenant with Israel. [Though it is not addressed here, both the Old and New Covenants are made between YHVH of Hosts or God the Father and Israel (whether physical or spiritual). Christ as the Mal'ak of God is the Mediator of these Covenants and thus it was on behalf of God the Father or YHVH of Hosts that he spoke to Israel at Bochim.] Again Christ is indicated to be the Angel of YHVH.

We see the Angel of YHVH deal with Balaam in Numbers 22-23. Again the Angel's actions and instructions ("speak only the word I speak to you") are equated with YHVH’s. Here Elohim is clearly the Angel of YHVH while he carries the name and authority of YHVH.

(See the paper The Doctrine of Balaam and Balaam’s Prophecy (No. 204)).

The problems with the Angel and Balaam and the doctrines of Balaam have been examined in the papers The Nicolaitans (No. 202) and The Doctrine of Balaam and Balaam’s Prophecy (No. 204).

The Angel also appeared to Joshua in the guise of the Commander of YHVH's army, being referred to as YHVH.

Note that the ground where the Commander stands is holy (cf. Ex. 3) and just as the term YHVH is applied to the Angel of YHVH, so YHVH is applied to the Commander of YHVH's army. Thus, this Being carried the authority and presence of YHVH in himself just as the Angel of YHVH did. Given Hosea 12:5 referred to earlier where the Angel is called YHVH, Elohim of the Host and also the New Testament passages where Christ is portrayed as the Captain of heaven's armies (e.g. Rev 19:11-13), it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Being who appeared to Joshua was the Angel of YHVH, namely, Christ.

The Angel of YHVH appears a number of times in Judges. Earlier we saw his appearance to Israel where he declared himself as the Mal'ak who made the Covenant at Sinai with Israel. Now we examine his involvement with Israel's judges.

The first account is his appearance to Gideon. Here the terms Angel of YHVH and YHVH are freely interchanged while describing the same personage. It is interesting to observe that Gideon initially calls the Angel of YHVH his adoni, a form of lord or master used of men. When Gideon begins to perceive the true identity of the Angel, he addresses him (in the standard Hebrew text) as Adonai. This was the formal divine name used when speaking of YHVH, because "YHVH" was considered too sacred to pronounce. However, as with the passages in Genesis noted earlier, the original word in verse 15 was YHVH, and was changed to Adonai by the Sopherim as they did the 133 other texts, presumably to conceal the fact that the title YHVH had been applied to an Angel.

The title The-LORD-Shalom meaning He Causes Peace is significant as it is very close to the title given to Messiah, namely Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

Some time later the Angel of YHVH appeared again, this time to the parents of Samson. In this account several points are relevant. Samson's father Manoah initially doubts the identity of the Angel. He asks the Angel his name. The Angel replies that his name is wonderful, a term in the Hebrew closely related to one of the titles of Christ given in Isaiah 9:6.

When Manoah realises the Angel's identity, he equates him with God or Elohim ("we have seen God!"). Manoah is alarmed when he realises that he has seen the Elohim of Israel, the Angel of HaElohim (or Angel of The God) face to face since this Elohim told Moses that "no man can see my face and live" (Ex. 33:20). The capacity or incapacity to observe this Elohim's face must be dependent upon the degree of power or glory he chooses to display. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and Gideon all saw the Angel face to face, and did not die (though both Jacob and Gideon were alarmed at seeing him). Since Manoah and his wife did not suffer harm, the Angel must have appeared in a non-glorified state, thus permitting the observation of his person.

In Samuel the story of Saul and David and of how David fled to the Philistines to escape Saul is recorded. The response of the Philistine Lords stopped David from fighting against Israel. 1Samuel 29 records how the Philistines gathered all their armies to Aphek and David went up with Achish whom he had served faithfully. The Philistines became angry at his presence and demanded that he withdraw. Achish had argued for his loyalty but was ordered to dispatch David and his men which he did. In the discussion, Achish praises David's goodness and likens him to an angel of Elohim. Thus the understanding of the Mal'ak of Elohim was known amongst the Gentile nations:

In 2Samuel 14, the story of the widow of Tekoah whose sons fought is given. One slew the other and his life was to be forfeited. Thus her family's inheritance would perish. She appeals to the king and he is likened to a Messenger or Angel of Elohim in verse 17:

The Angel of YHVH is also described in 2Samuel 24:16 f. He appears near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David saw that the Angel was destroying the people and so he repented of his sin (of numbering the people) and appealed to YHVH who stopped the destruction. David was commanded through Gad to raise up an altar to YHVH.

In verse 19 the instructions from Gad to David are said to be the instructions of YHVH. However, in the parallel account in 1Chronicles 21:12-30 it is the Angel who tells Gad what to say:

Thus the YHVH in the account in Samuel in fact expands to reveal that we are dealing with two YHVHs, the Angel of YHVH termed YHVH and the YHVH for whom the sacrifice is to be made. This second YHVH to whom the sacrifice was made must be YHVH of Hosts, or God Almighty. The object of worship was YHVH as the Supreme YHVH or YHVH of Hosts and not the YHVH termed the Angel of YHVH.

We know for a fact that the object of worship at the Temple was Eloah, the supreme deity, the one true God, who had placed His name there at Jerusalem. It was the Law of Eloah that was followed (cf. Ezra 4:24-7:26). Eloah is Yahovah of Hosts.

We also note that in verse 16 the Angel is presented as standing between earth and heaven. That is, he is portrayed as mediator between men and God. This parallels the role of Christ in the New Testament:

After Elijah had killed the priests of Baal (1Kings 19), the news was given to Jezebel by Ahab and Jezebel swore to kill Elijah, whereupon Elijah got up and fled for his life. The Angel of YHVH found him and gave him strength to continue on.

The Angel of YHVH appeared and assisted Elijah and Elijah equated the Angel with YHVH. He speaks to a YHVH in the cave, here termed the Word of YHVH of how he has been diligent for YHVH of Hosts thus distinguishing between the two. The YHVH in the cave tells him to go outside and stand before YHVH, who speaks to him as a still small voice and gives him instructions. Thus, this passage appears to present two YHVHs. Since no man has at anytime heard the voice of YHVH of Hosts or Almighty God we must be dealing with The Angel of the Covenant and a subordinate angel. The Judaic interpretation of the "voice of God" is that it was a Cherub speaking. Given this interpretation regarding the voice of God, we in fact have a hierarchy of YHVH spanning three levels.

The anointed covering cherubs were termed the yahovah and elohim representing God.

The alternative explanation is that the same Angel of YHVH spoke outside of the cave as well as within. However, that would seem to make the whole exercise rather pointless. The purpose seems to be to demonstrate the structure, plan and authority of the Godhead.

The Angel of YHVH again speaks to Elijah in the account in 2Kings 1:3-4 concerning the messengers of the king of Samaria which he had sent to Baalzebub (The Lord of the Flies), the God of Ekron, to inquire as to whether he would recover from his sickness. The Angel tells Elijah that the king will not survive because he had inquired of the God of Ekron. The Angel spoke conveying the authority of YHVH (i.e. "and therefore says YHVH"):

Similarly in verse 15 after fire had come down from heaven and consumed the guards sent to arrest Elijah, the Angel appeared and told Elijah to go with them. Again he speaks on behalf of YHVH:

When the Assyrian army under Sennacherib invaded Israel and Hezekiah prayed to YHVH of Hosts for deliverance, Isaiah was sent to Hezekiah by YHVH. Hezekiah was told that the zeal of YHVH of Hosts would deliver them (2Kings 19:31). YHVH stated that:

That night the Angel of YHVH went out and destroyed 185,000 of the Assyrian army and Sennacherib returned home in humiliation only to be assassinated by his sons.

The same story is given in Isaiah 37:36 and 2 Chronicles 32:21. In the latter account it is recorded that YHVH (or Jehovah) sent an angel to destroy the Assyrians.

Psalm 34:7 states that the Angel of YHVH camps around those who fear him:

The concept we are dealing with is, therefore, a Being with a specific responsibility rather than ad hoc delegation. However, this is not to say that no other angels were delegated responsibilities with regards to Israel. In Luke 2:9 the term angel of God is applied to the angel (messenger) which announced the birth of Christ. Thus, other angels aside from the particular Angel of the Covenant who was Christ obviously dealt with Israel as YHVH of Hosts or Almighty God determined. Nevertheless it seems clear from the texts examined in earlier sections that the Angel of the Covenant was the Angel of YHVH or the Elohim and YHVH who protected Israel. In Psalm 35:5-6 the same concept is presented in that the Angel of YHVH is the driving wind against the enemy. He is the pursuer of Israel's enemies. He is a YHVH who is subordinate to YHVH of Hosts:

From the passages quoted in previous sections it is apparent that the understanding of the Angel of YHVH or Angel of Elohim was a part of everyday life in Israel. He was the Elohim of Israel, anointed above his companions by his superior Elohim who was God, the Father, YHVH of Hosts, and El Shadday:

David also understood him as his Lord or Adoni (from this text):

Both these passages were used of Christ in the New Testament (Heb. 1:8-9; Mat. 22:42-45), the clear implication being that Israel understood the hierarchical relationship in the Godhead; that their Elohim and YHVH was in a subordinate relationship to his Elohim and YHVH who was the Most High God. He was Yahovah of Hosts as the Elyon.

Solomon cautioned the people against disobedience against the Angel of Elohim when going to the House of God:

Notice how being in God's house before the Angel of God was to be in God's presence (because the Angel carried the authority of God) even though God is said to be in heaven.

The Mal'ak of God or Angel of God preserved the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were thrust into the fiery furnace for refusing to fall down and worship any other than the Most High God:

The Angel also came and preserved Daniel’s life when he was thrust into the lions den:

Throughout Zechariah the Angel of YHVH is mentioned. He is frequently referred to as YHVH but always distinguished from YHVH of Hosts. We are introduced to him in Zechariah 1. In a vision at night Zechariah sees four horses with riders near some trees. He also sees both the Angel of YHVH (referred to as a Man on a red horse) and an interpreting angel (also referred to in 1:9,13-14; 2:3; 4:1,4-5; 5:5,10; 6:4-5). In verse 9 he asks the interpreting angel about the horses and their riders. The interpreting angel says he will explain and in verse 10 the Man among the trees answers the interpreting angel. In verse 11 this Man is identified as the Angel of YHVH; he speaks with the riders of the other horses and then calls upon YHVH of Hosts for an answer concerning Judah's captivity for 70 years.

In verses 13-17 YHVH responds to the interpreting angel who speaks to Zechariah. The message is that YHVH of Hosts will again choose Jerusalem and his house will be built there. In verse 18 Zechariah sees four horns. He asks the interpreting angel for the meaning of these. In verse 19 the angel replies. In verses 20-21 the interpreting angel, now termed YHVH shows him four craftsmen who are going to deal with the horns (the powers which scattered Judah and Israel). This example shows that mal’ak other than the singular Mal’ak of YHVH also took the title YHVH because they represented YHVH and hence carried his name:

In Chapter 2 Zechariah receives a message from another angel (possibly the Angel of YHVH - the text is unclear) about how YHVH is coming again to dwell in Jerusalem. This passage is quite remarkable as YHVH speaks saying that he has been sent by YHVH of Hosts, thus indicating a plurality of YHVHs, one subordinate to the other:

In Zechariah 3:1-9 the Angel is portrayed as Judge. A court scene is presented where Joshua the High Priest stands before the Angel with Satan as the Accuser. The Angel, termed YHVH passes judgment calling on YHVH in the third person or YHVH of Hosts to rebuke Satan:

In verse 3 the Angel (termed YHVH) does not rebuke Satan directly, but calls on YHVH, who must be God Most High to rebuke Satan. This parallels the account of Michael calling on the Lord (Kurios in the Greek, corresponding to Adonai or YHVH in Hebrew) to rebuke Satan as recorded in Jude 9:

Notably, the Angel of YHVH is equated to God [Elohim] in Zechariah 12:8:

This passage conveys several concepts. Firstly, the Angel of YHVH is at their head; that is, he goes before Judah (and Israel) in battle - this parallels Christ as the Captain of our salvation:

Secondly, we see that at Messiah's coming (for the passage is Messianic) the house of David shall be like Elohim, and the Angel of YHVH; that is, humans are to be counted in the ranks of the Elohim and angels of YHVH. Thirdly, this passage prophetically identifies the lineage the Angel of YHVH would adopt as Messiah, namely the house of David. Christ of course was of the house of David. In Micah's account of the coming of Messiah it is said that his origin is from old, from ancient days. He is said to stand in the strength of YHVH, of YHVH his Elohim. Thus, Messiah has a superior YHVH and Elohim who anoints him with authority:

The aspect has been examined in the paper Micah 5:2-3 (No. 121).

The Bible clearly and unambiguously teaches that there is only one true God. Jesus identified this Being as his Father (Jn. 17:1-3). He is known by numerous names and titles including the Most High, El Shadday or Almighty God, YHVH of Hosts, YHVH, Eloah, Elohim, HaElohim, and so forth. He alone is immortal and holy. He is the object of worship of the New Testament (Jn. 4:21-24) and was the object of the worship of Old Testament Israel (Ex. 20:2-3). As the Most High God, He was the God of Israel (e.g. Deut. 32:8; 2Sam. 22:14; Ps. 7:17; 9:2; 21:7; 46:4; 47:2; 50:14; 56:2; 57:2; 73:11; 77:10; 78:17,56; 83:18; 91:1,9; 92:1,8; 107:11).

The Bible also teaches that the one true God is invisible, and no man, at any time, has ever seen Him or heard His voice, but that He has chosen to reveal Himself to humans through supernatural messengers termed mal'ak or angels. I