Who is the Angel of the Lord?

via Answers Weekly, Answers in Genesis
by Tim Chaffey, AiG–U.S.
January 13, 2012

Christians generally agree that many Old Testament passages that mention “the Angel of the Lord” are appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ (Christ before He came in the flesh). Here are some of the characteristics of this “Angel” as given in the various passages: The “Angel” is referred to with masculine pronouns (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6:21). He is identified as God (Judges 6:11, 14; Zechariah 12:8). He performed miracles (Judges 6:21; 13:20). Gideon and Manoah thought they would die because they saw the “Angel” face to face (Judges 6:22; 13:22). The “Angel” accurately foretold future events (Judges 13:3). His name is “wonderful” (Judges 13:18; cf., Isaiah 9:6). He destroyed 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army in one night (2 Kings 19:35). While angels have occasionally performed some of these actions, such as miracles and prophecy, there are clear examples when “the Angel of the Lord” cannot be viewed as a normal angel. He is occasionally identified as God, accepted worship, and at least two people who saw Him thought they would die for seeing Him face to face. These same attributes and activities are clearly attributed to God elsewhere in Scripture.

Continue reading to learn more about this topic and how angels are described in Scripture.

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