Angel of the lord.

The most important thing to remember when studying the identity of the angel of the LORD (also referred to as the angel of God in some instances) in the Bible is that the meaning may vary depending on the context of the passage. The best way to study the meaning is to look at the context of the passage, as well as the context of similar passages. We should use Scripture to interpret Scripture, and, as always, pray for discerning wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

Though there is some controversy surrounding the identity of the angel of the LORD, there are generally four schools of thought —that the angel of the LORD is either:

A special angel messenger, a heavenly being, who acted as God’s representative (not God himself).

God the Father, showing himself as a divine manifestation to humanity. This is known as a theophany - “appearance of God.”

God the Son, manifested in a pre-incarnate body form. This is known as a Christophany - “appearance of Christ.”

It varies. The figure is sometimes a manifestation of God and sometimes an angelic heavenly being representing God, depending on the context of the text.

One of the most persuasive arguments for Scripture’s legitimacy is the fact that as the story progresses, it sheds light on what came before. Throughout the New Testament, we’re introduced to principles and concepts that illuminate passages that weren’t entirely clear or obvious.

This happens in the form of theophanies—physical manifestations of God that we can now recognize as being Jesus. The Old Testament’s angel of the Lord is a perfect example of a theophany. When you begin to look closer at this biblical figure, you recognize three crucial truths that identify this character as Jesus:

He is identified as God.

He is distinct from God.

He fulfills many of the roles and ministries we recognize in Jesus.

Appearances of the "angel of the Lord" are often presented as theophanies, appearances of God himself, rather than a separate entity acting on his behalf. In Genesis 31:11–13, "the angel of God" says, "I am the God of Beth-el"

The term angel means “one sent” or “messenger,” and LORD in Hebrew is YHWH or Yahweh. The angel of the LORD is one sent by YHWH or a messenger of YHWH. If the Bible passage is referring to the pre-incarnate Jesus, then the meaning of "angel" is referring to the office of one sent. This is in line with Jesus’ mission as the One the Father sent into the world. (John 8:18, John 3:17).

He bore witness to himself, and he came to testify to the truth. When the passage refers to an angelic heavenly being sent to a deliver a message then the term “angel” is referring to the nature of the being - one of the heavenly hosts, a spirit-being created by God. So the word "angel" does not always refer to the nature of a being named in Scripture, it can refer to the office of a being.

The precise identity of the “angel of the Lord” is not given in the Bible. However, there are many important “clues” to his identity. There are Old and New Testament references to “angels of the Lord,” “an angel of the Lord,” and “the angel of the Lord.” It seems when the definite article “the” is used, it is specifying a unique being, separate from the other angels.

The angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies Himself with God, and exercises the responsibilities of God (Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11-24; 13:3-22; 2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12; 3:1; 12:8). In several of these appearances, those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for their lives because they had “seen the Lord.” Therefore, it is clear that in at least some instances, the angel of the Lord is a theophany, an appearance of God in physical form.

The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but “the angel of the Lord” is never mentioned in the New Testament after the birth of Christ. One possible difficulty is that the angel who appears to Joseph in a dream in Matthew 1:24 is called "the" angel of the Lord. However, this angel is clearly the same one appearing in verse 20, which calls him "an angel." Matthew is simply referencing the same angel he had just mentioned.

There is also some confusion regarding Matthew 28:2, where the KJV says “the angel of the Lord” descended from heaven and rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb. It is important to note that the original Greek has no article in front of angel; it could be “the angel” or “an angel,” but the article must be supplied by the translators. Other translations besides the KJV say it was “an angel,” which is the better wording.

It is possible that appearances of the angel of the Lord were manifestations of Jesus before His incarnation. Jesus declared Himself to be existent “before Abraham” (John 8:58), so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany) or an appearance of God the Father (theophany), it is highly likely that the phrase “the angel of the Lord” usually identifies a physical appearance of God.

When we hear the word “angels,” we tend to fall back on the image of winged beings. We’re conditioned to think of angels as an order of beings created by God—and in a lot of instances, that’s probably accurate. The biblical seraphim (Isaiah 6) and cherubim (Exodus 25:20) would fall in this category.

But that’s not the angelic standard. The Hebrew word translated as angel is malakh, and it simply means “messenger.”

Sure. Some angels are created beings with wings, but that’s not the norm. More often than not, angels look just like you and me. When we think of them as messengers or envoys, we realize that almost anyone could technically be an angel.