Jesus - Messenger of YahwehBy John Krneta / jkrneta@hotmail.com

Please note: Some words I have highlighted in green for emphasis.

The term “Angel of the LORD” is found about 50 times in the Tanakh (the Old Testament).

Angel (“Malach” in Hebrew) means to despatch (as a deputy), a messenger, ambassador, king (who functions as one of Yahweh’s servants). An “angel” is simply a messenger or representative of someone else.

LORD in our English Bibles is the Hebrew name YHWH (sometimes pronounced as “Yahweh”).

Therefore the “Angel of the LORD” that we see in scripture is the “Messenger of Yahweh”. We always see this term in the singular. It describes a particular person.

Three types of “malachim” (messengers) in scripture:

1. Human messengers.

The Prophet Haggai

Haggai 1:12-1312 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the LORD. 13 Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.”

Levite Priests

Malachi 2:4,7 4  Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,That My covenant with Levi may continue,”Says the LORD of hosts.

7  “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,And people should seek the law from his mouth;For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

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2. The class of beings commonly referred to as angels. These are created beings that serve God.

Psalm 104:44  Who makes His angels spirits,His ministers a flame of fire.

Psalm 103:2020  Bless the LORD, you His angels,Who excel in strength, who do His word,Heeding the voice of His word.

God’s angels protect us

Psalm 91:1111  For He shall give His angels charge over you,To keep you in all your ways.

There are good and evil angels

Revelation 12:7 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

3. A particular person called “the Angel of the LORD” (“Malach Yahweh” in Hebrew). The rest of this present study will focus on this person.

Jesus fulfilled the role of a messenger (angel) of the Father. Jesus was not an angelic being, but He did function as a messenger.

John 12:4949 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.

The first mention of the Angel of the LORD in scripture:Hagar runs away from Abraham and Sarah

Genesis 16:6-146 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

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9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her:

“Behold, you are with child,And you shall bear a son.You shall call his name Ishmael,Because the LORD has heard your affliction.12  He shall be a wild man;His hand shall be against every man,And every man’s hand against him.And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

v. 10 This being has the power to give life, to multiply one’s descendants.v. 13 Hagar both saw and heard “The God who sees”. The Angel of the LORD is God. The Angel of the LORD is also the LORD! Think of the LORD (Yahweh) as a family name. But which Yahweh is He? Yahweh the Father or Yahweh the Son?

John 1:1818 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 6:4646 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

These scriptures show that no one has ever seen God the Father at any time. They must have seen God the Son.

Exodus 24:1-2, 9-111 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

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People have seen God on His throne

Isaiah 6:1-51 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.5 So I said:

“Woe is me, for I am undone!Because I am a man of unclean lips,And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen the King,The LORD of hosts.”

Abraham and others have seen God face to face

Genesis 18:1-2, 20-25, 331 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre,as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground20 And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 “I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Then after Abraham did much negotiaging with Yahweh…

33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

This Yahweh is with 2 “men”. There are two types of beings here: Yahweh and angels. Abraham speaks only with Yahweh and not with the angels. v. 21 Yahweh comes down to the Earth from Heaven.

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v. 22 The angels separate from Yahweh so they can go to Sodom. v. 25 He is the Judge of all the Earth.

Who is the Judge of all the Earth?

2 Timothy 4:11 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

Acts 10:4242 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

The destruction of the cities

Genesis 19:24 24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.

Yahweh on Earth rains down brimstone and fire from Yahweh in heaven? Are there are two Yahwehs here? One of them came down to Earth (verse 21).

Jacob wrestles with God, face to face

Genesis 32:3030 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

“Peniel” means “face of God” in Hebrew.

Yahweh tests Abraham

Genesis 22:1-2 1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him,

“Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

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6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt

offering?”8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt

offering.” So the two of them went together.9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an

altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I

know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram

caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

v.11-12 The Angel of Yahweh says that “now I know that you fear Yahweh, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”After hearing from this “Angel” Abraham is provided with a ram for the sacrifice. He then says that Yahweh provided him with the ram by naming the place “Yahweh Will Provide”. There was no lamb sacrificed that day. Yahweh the Father would provide His Lamb in the person of His Son.v. 15 The Angel of Yahweh calls to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying:v. 16 “by Myself I have sworn”. Which angel can swear by himself?v. 16 “says Yahweh”.v. 17-18 “blessing I will bless you”. Which angel pronounces his own blessings upon someone?v. 18 “because you have obeyed my voice”. Of which angel is it described that we need to obey his voice?

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Jacob’s ladder in Bethel

Genesis 28:12-19 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

v. 13 Yahweh appears to Jacob. The God of Bethel is Yahweh.

Jacob flees from uncle Laban

Genesis 31:11-13 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

Here we see that the God of Bethel is The Angel of the LORD. In Genesis 28 the God of Bethel is Yahweh, while in Genesis 31 the God of Bethel is the Angel of God. Yahweh and the Angel of the LORD are one and the same being.

Jacob’s blessing on Joseph and his two sons

Genesis 48:15-16 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,16  The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,Bless the lads;Let my name be named upon them,And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

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And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Hosea 12:2-62  “The LORD also brings a charge against Judah,And will punish Jacob according to his ways;According to his deeds He will recompense him.3  He took his brother by the heel in the womb,And in his strength he struggled with God.4  Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;He wept, and sought favor from Him.He found Him in Bethel,And there He spoke to us—5  That is, the LORD God of hosts.The LORD is His memorable name.

Once again we see that God (the Son) = Yahweh (the Son) = the Angel (Messenger) of Yahweh (the Father).Nothing else really works. Unless God is a messenger of Himself, which does not make much sense.

Moses and the burning bush Exodus 3:1-14 1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”And he said, “Here I am.”5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.7 And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this

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mountain.”13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

v. 2 The Angel of the LORD appears to him.v. 4 “God called to him from the midst of the bush”v. 5 The place became holy ground because God’s presence was therev. 6 God declares Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses could have, but was afraid to, look upon God.v. 7 This same Being is also Yahweh.The rest is a conversation between God and Moses, with God declaring Himself as “I AM” in verse 14.

see also:John 8:58 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus is the “I AM”

Stephen’s parallel account

Acts 7:29-34 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons. 30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. 33 ‘Then the LORD said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’

This is a very interesting passage in the Greek. The New King James version has LORD in all capitals, because Stephen is quoting from Exodus 3. The name Yahweh never appears in the Greek “New Testament”. This word translated as LORD is “kurios” in Greek, the term used often for the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we see that according to Luke the author of Acts, kurios (the Lord Jesus Christ) and Yahweh (the God we hear of the most often in the “Old Testament”) are one and the same being.

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Yahweh goes before the IsraelitesExodus 13:21 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

The Angel of God goes before the Israelites

Exodus 14:19 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.

see also: Acts 7:35-3635 “This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

Is this God the Father sending Moses by the hand of God the Son?

The Angel of the LORD leads the Israelites to the promised land

Exodus 23:20-23 20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

Note that concerning Exodus 23, just like the Angel of the LORD,

- Jesus went before Israel.

I Corinthians 10:1-41 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

Isaiah 63:9 9  In all their affliction He was afflicted,

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And the Angel of His Presence saved them;In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;And He bore them and carried themAll the days of old.

“Angel of the Presence” is a similar Biblical term to “Angel of the LORD”. “Angel of His Presence” (“Malach Panaiv” in Hebrew), means “the Messenger that is before His face”. I suggest that “the Presence” is “the Father” in heaven, and that Jesus, the Father’s representative, has been sitting “before” the Father’s “face” at His right hand.

- Jesus has the power to forgive or not forgive sins.

Mark 2:7 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

The scribes in Jesus’ day knew that only God could forgive sins.

- Jesus (Yeshua) has the name of Yahweh in Him. Both by also being called Yahweh, as we have seen, and by exercising the authority of the Father.

Deuteronomy 18:17-1917 “And the LORD said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. A “Prophet” like Moses that Yahweh would one day raise up, and whom each person needs to obey. Acts 7:37-3837 “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’38 “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

Moses, the 70 elders and others saw the God of Israel

Exodus 24:9-119 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a

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paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.

God showed Himself in His glory to Moses

Exodus 33:18-2318 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

v. 20 No human being can see God’s (Yeshua’s) face in His full glory and survive the experience. We already saw how Jacob and Abraham saw God’s face. It must not have been in His full glory.

1 Timothy 6:14-1614 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is Jesus Christ.

Revelation 17:1414 “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Therefore King of Kings who no man can see in “unapproachable light” is Jesus.

Revelation 1:16c

16c and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

Jesus is the “One like the Son of Man” (verse 13) whose face shines as the sun in its’ full brilliance.

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The Israelites tempted God (Elohim) in the wilderness Numbers 21:5-65 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

see also:1 Corinthians 10:9 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;

The God of the Exodus was Christ. He led the Israelites out of Egypt, through the wilderness and met with Moses on Mount Sinai.

Judges 2:1-51 Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. 2 And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ ” 4 So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.5 Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the LORD.

The Angel of Yahweh, says “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers”. He now refuses to drive the inhabitants of Canaan out on behalf of the Israelites, due to their disobedience. They wept bitterly and then sacrificed to Yahweh.

Balaam and the Angel of the LORD

Numbers 22:21-35 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a

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wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”And he said, “No.”31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

It seems that the Angel of the Lord and the Lord are the same person.

The Commander of the army of Yahweh meets Joshua

Joshua 5:13-15 13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

He is called a “man”, yet He is also a Yahweh. Joshua worships Him and was told to take the sandals off his feet because the ground was holy as a result of this being’s presence there.

The Angel of Yahweh curses Meroz

The Angel of Yahweh appears to Gideon

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Judges 6:11-2411 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in

Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will wait until you come back.”19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an

ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 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.

21 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 rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.”23 Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

The Angel of Yahweh appears to Samson’s parents (Manoah and his wife)Judges 13:3-233 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7 And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be

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born.”9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?”And He said, “I am.”12 Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”13 So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.)17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. 21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

The Angel of the LORD turns out to be God.

v.22 Manoah said to his wife; “we shall surely die, because we have seen Elohim”. This being’s name was “wonderful”.

Isaiah 9:66  For unto us a Child is born,Unto us a Son is given;And the government will be upon His shoulder.And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In A New English Translation of the Septuagint, Isaiah 9:6 reads as:“because a child was born for us,

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a son also given to us,whose sovereignty was upon his shoulder,and he is named Messenger of Great Counsel,for I will bring peace upon the rulers,peace and health to him.”

We see that the prophesied child would be a Messenger. This Messianic child is not equated with the Everlasting Father in the Septuagint. The Septuagint was, for the most part, the scriptures of the Apostles and early believers in Yeshua.

Yahweh commands the Angel of Yahweh to relent from killing Jerusalemites. We hear the Father speaking to the Son here!

2 Samuel 24:15-17 15 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

Here is the parallel account:

I Chronicles 21:9-209 Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10 “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself, 12 either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the LORD—the plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”14 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth

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and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”18 Therefore, the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. 20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat.

Elijah’s flight from Jezebel

1 Kings 19:5-15 5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” 11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”15 Then the LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

v. 9 The Angel is called “the word of the LORD” (John 1:1) Note: the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria identified the Angel of the LORD with the Logos (Word). -Wikipedia, Angel of the LORD article.

v. 10 Elijah speaks to this Messenger of “Your covenant”, “Your altars” and “Your prophets”

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The Angel of the LORD’s message through Elijah to the king of Israel

The slaughter of the Assyrian army

2 Kings 19:35 (the parallel account is Isaiah 37:36)35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.

The Angel of the LORD personally slaughters 185,000 Assyrians who were besieging Jerusalem.

He is our protector

Psalm 34:77  The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,And delivers them.

We are to fear God alone

2 Kings 17:36-3936 but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”

The Angel in the furnace of fire

Daniel 3:24-2824 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

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28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!

The fourth being in the midst of the firey furnace was “like the Son of God”. v. 28 This being was also a Messenger and a deliverer (saviour) of the God who delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.

The two Yahwehs have a conversation

Zechariah 1:7-17 7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: 8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white. 9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”10 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”11 So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.” 12 Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?”13 And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. 14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“I am zealous for JerusalemAnd for Zion with great zeal.15  I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease;For I was a little angry,And they helped—but with evil intent.”

16 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD:

“I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy;My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts,“And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’

17 “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“My cities shall again spread out through prosperity;The LORD will again comfort Zion,And will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”

This is an actual conversation between The Angel of Yahweh and Yahweh.

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v. 12 The Angel of Yahweh has a conversation with Yahweh. We see this in scripture from time to time.

John 12:2828 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

The Angel of the LORD coming to Joshua, the high priest’s aid. Then He prophesizes concerning Himself.

Zechariah 3:1-8 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away

the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the

Angel of the LORD stood by.6 Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the LORD

of hosts:‘If you will walk in My ways,And if you will keep My command,Then you shall also judge My house,And likewise have charge of My courts;I will give you places to walkAmong these who stand here.8 ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,You and your companions who sit before you,For they are a wondrous sign;For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

v. 2 The LORD said “The LORD rebuke you, Satan!”v. 4 The Angel of the LORD says “I have removed your iniquity from you”.v. 8 The Angel of the LORD heralded Yahweh’s message of His coming Servant The BRANCH. Here is Yeshua proclaiming His own coming.

The Shepherd of Israel – Yahweh’s Companion.This is not speaking of Judas, but of Jesus, the Father’s Companion.

Zechariah 13:77  “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

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Against the Man who is My Companion,”Says the LORD of hosts.“Strike the Shepherd,And the sheep will be scattered;Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

This was fulfilled in the following accounts:

Matthew 26:5656 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Mark 14:5050 Then they all forsook Him and fled.

The Son of ManDaniel 7:13-14 13  “I was watching in the night visions,And behold, One like the Son of Man,Coming with the clouds of heaven!He came to the Ancient of Days,And they brought Him near before Him.14  Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.His dominion is an everlasting dominion,Which shall not pass away,And His kingdom the oneWhich shall not be destroyed.

One like the “Son of Man” prophesied to come, and to receive an everlasting kingdom to rule over all peoples.

The two messengers

Malachi 3:1 1 “Behold, I send My messenger,And he will prepare the way before Me.And the Lord, whom you seek,Will suddenly come to His temple,Even the Messenger of the covenant,In whom you delight.Behold, He is coming,”Says the LORD of hosts.

The first messenger here was to be John the Baptizer, the second one is Yeshua, who gave the covenant on Mt. Sinai.

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“In the New Testament, there is no mention of the angel of the Lord; the Messiah himself is this person” – Louis Goldberg, Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.

Yeshua was written of throughout the TaNaKh (“Old Testament”)

John 5:4646 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

Luke 24:2727 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Yeshua – The God of the TaNaKh!

Mark 14:62 62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Yeshua declared that He would sit at the right hand of God (the Father)

Matthew 28:18 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

All authority has been given from the Father to Yeshua, as He rules under the Father

I Peter 3:22 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.

This Angel of the LORD (Yeshua) was not like the angels, but far superior to them and will again rule over all of them.

Hebrews 1:5-65 For to which of the angels did He ever say:“You are My Son,Today I have begotten You” ?And again:“I will be to Him a Father,And He shall be to Me a Son” ?

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6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says:“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

John 14:28 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.

Yeshua said that “My Father is greater than I”. They are two distict and separate Beings, yet they are in complete harmony and unity (echad).

Yeshua, as the Angel of YAHWEH came as His Messenger to perform the Father’s will

Hebrews 10:7 (a quote from Psalm 40:6-8)7  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’ ”

The Angel of the LORD: Yahweh the Father’s Servant Yeshua.

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