There is something within most of

us that yearns for the supernatural.

It is this desire that explains the

popularity of movies such as The

Sixth Sense and Signs, TV shows

about aliens, and books like the

J.R.R.Tolkien series. It explains why

we can be drawn to New Age

practices such as Tarot cards, ouija

boards and spiritualists. Yet, if we

are looking to quench our thirst for

the magical, mystical or mysterious,

we need look no further than the

Jewish Bible, for it contains some of

the most intriguing stories and

characters ever recorded.

One such character is a . . .

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Close Encounters of the Holy Kind

by Tom Brewer

HISSN 0741-0352EDITOR: SUSAN PERLMAN ASSISTANT EDITOR: NAOMI ROSE ROTHSTEINDESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION: PAIGE SAUNDERS PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. ©2002E-MAIL: ISSUESAMJP@aol.com • WEB: www.jewsforjesus.org

mysterious figure who appears suddenly, dramatically,and frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures. His messagesand actions arrest the full attention of all he engages. Hemakes promises, delivers commands, reveals the future,accepts worship and safeguards the people of God in avariety of situations. The more one looks at the personand work of this individual, the more mysterious hebecomes.

This unique character is identified as “the angel ofthe Lord.” The Hebrew word for “angel” is mal’akh,which is derived from a verb root meaning “to send.”As a noun, mal’akh means “one who is sent” or “amessenger.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, these“messengers” can be human figures (prophets orpriests) or non-human, finite, created beings (angels)who bear messages for God. The meaning is usuallydetermined by the context in which the word mal’akhis used.

Of the 214 references to mal’akh in the HebrewScriptures, 33% are best translated as “the angel ofthe Lord,” rather than “an angel.” The Scripturesdistinguish this particular angel from all other angels.In the Talmud he is given the name Metatron, whichindicates a special relationship with God. Onemeaning of meta and thronos, two Greek words, givesthe sense of “one who serves behind the throne” ofGod. So the angel of the Lord is the primarymessenger of God, the one sent by God, the one whorepresents God.

Yet the Scriptures seem to present this angel as evenmore than God’s representative. In fact, this messengerseems to have powers and abilities reserved only forGod himself.

HHee ssppeeaakkss aass GGoodd

The first time this mysterious messenger of Godappears in the Bible, he speaks to Hagar, Sarai’smaidservant who was carrying Abraham’s child:

“I will so increase your descendants that they willbe too numerous to count. You are now with childand you will have a son. You shall name himIshmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.”(Genesis 16:10)

Right away, the angel of the Lord does somethingunusual, even impossible for any created being to do—he makes both a promise and a prophecy in the firstperson. Even the prophets of God always prefaced orended their prophecies with phrases like, “Thus saith theLord.” Yet here the angel of the Lord says “I will soincrease your descendants . . .”

Seventeen years later, while Hagar and Ishmael werein the desert on the brink of death, the angel of the Lordcalled to Hagar from heaven and said,

“. . . Do not be afraid; God has heard the boycrying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and takehim by the hand, for I will make him into a greatnation.” (Genesis 21:17-18)

If the responsibility of an angel is simply to act asGod’s messenger, then what is this angel doing makingsuch bold statements?

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the angel doesnot speak in the first person for the entirety of thesecond passage. He switches from the third person,“God has heard the boy crying . . .” to the first person,“I will . . .”. This is not the only place where thisoccurs, and it is a way of speaking that sets this angelapart from any other messenger of God that we find inthe Scriptures.

For instance, we see it in the dramatic Akedahaccount, the binding of Isaac, when the angel of theLord cries out:

“Abraham! Abraham! . . . Do not lay a hand onthe boy . . . Do not do anything to him. Now I

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know that you fear God, because you have notwithheld from me your son, your only son.”(Genesis 22:11,12)

Here again the angel of the Lord speaks with boththird person and first person references to God: “. . . you fear God, . . . you have not withheld from me . . .”. The angel speaks with the authority of God,yet he distinguishes himself from God.1 A mysteriousbeing indeed!

TThhee pprreesseennccee ooff

GGoodd iiss iinn hhiimm

This is illustrated further in the book of Exodus.Moses was in the desert, tending his father-in-law’s flock,when a curious phenomenon captured his attention—abush that was burning but not being consumed. The textsays, “There the angel of the LORD appeared to him inflames of fire from within a bush.” When Mosesapproached the bush to investigate he heard the voice ofGod: “Moses! Moses! . . . Do not come any closer. . . .Take off your sandals, for the place where you arestanding is holy ground. . . . I am the God of your father,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God ofJacob” (Exodus 3:2,4-6).

In this narrative Moses encounters the angel of theLord and simultaneously hears the voice of God, whorepeatedly affirms his identity for Moses and finallydeclares his name: “I Am Who I Am. This is what youare to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’”(Exodus 3:14). The angel of the Lord does more thanspeak with the authority of God—here he identifieshimself as God.

The Bible indicates that the presence of God himselfresides in this angel. This is seen when God speaks withMoses on Mt. Sinai; he refers to the angel of the Lord ashis angel, and promises to send him to accompany Israelinto the Promised Land.

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“See, I am sending my angel ahead of you toguard you along the way and to bring you intothe place I have prepared. . . . Do not rebelagainst him; he will not forgive your rebellion,since my Name is in him. If you listen carefullyto what he says and do all that I say, I will be anenemy to your enemies and will oppose thosewho oppose you.” (Exodus 23:20-22)

God seems to view the angel of the Lord (hisangel) as separate from himself, and yet his Namedwells in him. Later in the chapter, the Lord tellsMoses that his (God’s) Presence will go with theIsraelites. The terms “my angel” and “my presence”are used interchangeably. Centuries later, theprophet Isaiah, remembering God’s faithfulness toIsrael, said, “In all their distress he too wasdistressed, and the angel of his presence saved them.In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he liftedthem up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah63:9). So it was understood that the very presenceof God is somehow in this special angel that he callshis own.

HHee aappppeeaarrss aass aa mmaann,,

yyeett aacccceeppttss wwoorrsshhiipp

aanndd ssaaccrriiffiiccee

Israel has crossed the Jordan and is camped atGilgal anticipating the assault on Jericho, when theangel of the Lord appears to Joshua:

. . . he looked up and saw a man standing infront of him with a drawn sword in his hand.Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you forus or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied,“but as commander of the army of the LORD Ihave now come.” Then Joshua fell facedownto the ground in reverence, and asked him,“What message does my LORD have for hisservant?” The commander of the LORD’s armyreplied, “Take off your sandals, for the placewhere you are standing is holy.” And Joshuadid so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

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SThough described as a man in this account, the

swordsman is plainly extraordinary. Joshua falls facedown before him in reverence.2 Then, in an actionreminiscent of Moses’ encounter with the angel of theLord at the burning bush, Joshua removes his sandals atthe messenger’s command. Joshua would worship noordinary angel or human messenger—this swordsmanmust be God in person.

A similar instance occurs in the book of Judges whenthe angel of the Lord appears to Gideon at the oak inOphrah and commands him to save Israel from theoppressing Midianites. He assures Gideon in wordssimilar to those he had spoken to Moses from theburning bush, “I will be with you, and you will strikedown the Midianites as if they were but one man”(Judges 6:16).

Gradually, Gideon recognizes that he is in thecompany of an extraordinary being. In a gesture ofhospitality, he brings out meat, bread and broth,proposing to feed his visitor, but:

The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat andthe unleavened bread, place them on this rock,and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Withthe tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angelof the LORD touched the meat and the unleavenedbread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming themeat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD

disappeared. (Judges 6:20-21)

What Gideon offered as a meal for a man became aburnt offering to the Lord. Gideon’s reaction leaves nodoubt about his understanding of what had occurred.The text says:

When Gideon realized that it was the angel of theLORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORd! I haveseen the angel of the LORD face to face!” But theLORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. Youare not going to die.” (Judges 6:22-23)

Notice that the text indicates that this angel of theLord is God. Gideon was afraid because this was a faceto face encounter—after all, it was believed that no mancould see God and live. This episode is reminiscent of

another appearance of the angel of the Lord. WhenJacob had his all-night struggle with a “man” in Genesis32:24-30 and broke off the contest at dawn’s first light,Jacob exclaimed, “It is because I saw God face to face,and yet my life was spared” (Genesis 32:30).

SSoo wwhhaatt??

It seems reasonable to conclude, for the followingreasons, that the angel of the Lord is himself deity:

1. He speaks both promises and prophecy and bringsthem to pass.

2. He is spoken of as being the Lord and speaks in thefirst person as God.

3. He is offered and accepts both worship and sacrifice.4. Those to whom he appears recognize him as divine

and call him God.

If the angel of the Lord is actually God, this sayssomething remarkable about God’s nature. Jewishtradition balks at the idea that we can perceive theCreator God in a physical form. This is why we arewarned not to make any images of God, lest we commitidolatry. The concept of a God we can see is alien toour understanding. And yet, we know that even thoughGod told Moses, “No man can see me and live,” people(including Moses) have seen God (Exodus 24:9-11). Weremember that our eternal God chose to dwell with ourpeople in the desert and in the Temple.

How can the truly infinite be made visible? How canone see God and live? The answer must be that God hasto provide a way for this to happen.

The existence of the angel of the Lord shows us thatGod’s nature is beyond simple categorization.Throughout the Scriptures, the angel of the Lord appearsas God, yet he distinguishes himself from the Almighty.So we see that God can somehow be eternal andinvisible, yet manifest himself temporarily.

So we can now ask a very important question. If Godcan make himself visible in various forms, including thatof a man, then why exclude the possibility that twothousand years ago, he could have done the same thing,and come to earth as the promised Messiah who livedand died in human-yet-God form, and rose again?

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Similarities between the angel of the Lord and Y’shuaThere are people who think that the angel of the Lord is Y’shua (Jesus) before he became a man. While the

Scriptures do not say this explicitly, there are some remarkable likenesses between the angel and Y’shua.

Attribute

Is seen as

God

Genesis 16:10,13 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to

her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they

will be too many to count.”. . . Then she called the name

of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees;”

for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing

Him?”

John 20:28 Thomas answered and said

to [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!”

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “. . . He who

has seen Me has seen the Father . . .”

Speaks as if

he is God

Judges 2:1-2 Now the angel of the LORD . . . said, “I

brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land

which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never

break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall

make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you

shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me;

what is this you have done?”

John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”

Yet is separate

from God and

obedient to

him

1 Chronicles 21:27 “The LORD commanded the angel,

and he put his sword back in its sheath.”

John 8:38 “I am telling you what I have

seen in the Father’s presence . . .”Note: Even though Jesus spoke with the authorityof God, he was still obedient to God. This is seenin the prayer he utters in the garden of Gethsemane,and in his obedience as he died on a cross.

Is sent from

the Father

Judges 13:9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and

the angel of God came again to the woman as she was

sitting in the field . . .

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “. . . for I

came from God and now am here. I have

not come on my own; but he sent me.

John 6:38 “For I have come down from

heaven not to do My own will, but the

will of Him who sent Me.

Speaks with

all the

authority of

God, gives

commands

Judges 13:12-14 Manoah said, “Now when your words

come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his

vocation?” So the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Let

the woman pay attention to all that I said. “She should

not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine

or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe

all that I commanded.”

Matthew 7:28, 29 When Jesus had

finished saying these things, the crowds

were amazed at his teaching, because he

taught as one who had authority, and not as

their teachers of the law.

Matthew 8:27 The men were amazed and

asked, “What kind of man is this? Even

the winds and the waves obey him!”

Forgives sin Zechariah 3:3,4 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy

garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said

to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove

the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See,

I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe

you with festal robes.”

Matthew 9:2 When Jesus saw their faith,

he said, “. . . son, your sins are forgiven.”

Angel of the Lord Y’SHUA

Acts as

judge and

avenger of

Israel

Joshua 5:13,14 Now it came about when Joshua was byJericho, that he . . . looked, and behold, a man was standingopposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshuawent to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for ouradversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now ascaptain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his faceto the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What hasmy lord to say to his servant?” Note: Though the text doesnot specifically call this mysterious man the angel of the Lord, thepassage closely parallels Exodus 3 and the following verse.

1 Chronicles 21:16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw theangel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with hisdrawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. ThenDavid and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces.

Revelation 19:11-16 And I saw heaven

opened, and behold, a white horse, and He

who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and

in righteousness He judges and wages war . . .

and His name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which are in heaven, clothed

in fine linen, white and clean, were

following Him on white horses. From His

mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it

He may strike down the nations, and He

will rule them with a rod of iron; and He

treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of

God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on

His thigh He has a name written, “KING

OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Accepts

Worship

Judges 6:19-21 Then Gideon went in and prepared a

young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour;

he put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, and

brought them out to him under the oak and presented

them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and

the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour

out the broth.” And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD

put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and

touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang

up from the rock and consumed the meat and the

unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished

from his sight.

Matthew 28:5-95 The angel [not the angel

of the Lord but a different angel] said to the

women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that

you are looking for Jesus who has been

crucified. He is not here, for He has risen,

just as He said. Come, see the place where He

was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples

that He has risen from the dead; and behold,

He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there

you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

And they left the tomb quickly with fear and

great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.

And behold, Jesus met them and greeted

them. And they came up and took hold of

His feet and worshiped Him.

Comforts 1 Kings 19:3-8 And he (Elijah) was afraid and arose and ran for

his life . . . he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness,

and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and . . . said, “It is

enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my

fathers.” He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and

behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him,

“Arise, eat.” Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a

bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate

and drank and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came

again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat,

because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose and ate

and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and

forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who

are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give

you rest. Take My yoke upon you and

learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble

in heart, and you will find rest for your

souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden

is light.”

Uses “I AM”

to refer to

himself

Exodus 3:14 God [called the angel of the Lord in this

passage] said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM;” and He said,

“Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me

to you.’”

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly,

truly, I say to you, before Abraham was

born, I am.”

Makes

special

promises

Genesis 16:10 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to

her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they

will be too many to count.”

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be

troubled; believe in God, believe also in

Me. In My Father’s house are many

dwelling places; if it were not so, I would

have told you; for I go to prepare a place

for you. If I go and prepare a place for you,

I will come again and receive you to Myself,

that where I am, there you may be also.”

Attribute Angel of the Lord Y’SHUA

7

8

Like the angel of the Lord, Y’shua (Jesus) claimed theauthority of God on many occasions. He was a man, yetclearly more than a man. Consider some of his words.

• He spoke as God, yet about God: “I and theFather are one.”

• He spoke with the authority of God: “Takecourage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

• He said he could usher us into the presence ofGod: “I am the way and the truth and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through me.”

• He made promises and prophesied: “In the futureyou will see the Son of Man sitting at the righthand of the Mighty One and coming on the cloudsof heaven.”

Yet Y’shua did more than just speak in mysteriousterms. It was with this unique authority that heperformed miracles, healed the sick and raised thedead. He spoke of God as his “father,” yet also claimedto be divinely eternal himself. He also accepted

worship from his followers, one of whom was John, anearly Jewish believer in Jesus, who wrote about Jesus:

He was in the beginning with God. . . . And . . . [he] became flesh, and dwelt among us,and we saw His glory, glory as of the onlybegotten [Son] from the Father, full of graceand truth. (John 1:2,14)

Just as their ancestors encountered God in theperson of the angel of the Lord, clearly John and themany other Jewish followers of Jesus believed theyhad encountered the Almighty God face to face in theperson of Y’shua. Paul, a first-century rabbi,recognized that God had made a way for us to seehim, when he wrote that Jesus is “the image of theinvisible God.”

Why not examine the Hebrew Scriptures foryourself, and compare this extraordinary messengerof God to Jesus? Who knows what other mysteriesyou may encounter? ■

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1. After all, God has previously appeared to Abraham several times in person and in a vision (Gen.12:1; 15:1; 17:1; 18:1). 2. It should be remembered that Joshua is experienced in postures of worship, having often accompanied Moses to the Tent of Meeting.

What?

Debbie! Debbie! What is it, Shlomi?Yeah, while you were on the phone, the doorbell rang, and I went to open it . . .

And there was a man I’d never seen before, standing there, smiling . . .

Then what?

Well, this is the most incredible part. We stood staring at each other for about a minute, then he handed me this bag and then he disappeared.

Wait a minute, Shlomi, let me see that bag. Shlomi, that wasn’t an angel, that was the new Chinese food delivery man!

Debbie, I think I just saw an angel!

Oh, I wondered why he asked me if I wanted chopsticks.