This is the fourth in a brief series of posts on angels.

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There is in Scripture one “angel” who is above all others. He is not created. His name appears more than 40 times in the Old Testament, but never in the New Testament. He is called “the Angel of the Lord,” “the Angel of His Presence,” “the Captain of the Lord’s Hosts,” and “ I AM WHO I AM” — a name reserved only for the one true and living God.

Who is this awesome messenger?

Ancient Israelites believed him to be a special angel, the highest revelation of the unseen God. Similarly, Roman Catholics generally regard the Angel of the Lord as an angelic representative of God. 

Evangelicals, on the other hand, regard Him either as a theophany, a manifestation of God that is tangible to the human senses, or as a Christophany, an appearance of the preincarnate Son of God.

The angel as preincarnate Christ

In The Doctrine of Angels & Demons, Norman Geisler writes that “the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament serves the same role as does Christ in the New Testament (Isa. 63:7-10). Once the Son (Christ) came in permanent incarnate form (John 1:1 14), never again does the Angel of the Lord appear. Angels appear, but no angel that is worshiped or claims to be God ever appears again. The Father and Holy Spirit never appear as a man. Hence, Jesus Christ, as a person, eternally existed and appeared as a man before His virginal conception on earth.”

Put another way, the angel of the Lord is the Logos, the Divine Word, the image of the invisible God who later manifests himself as God in human flesh (John 1:14).

But why does he appear in angelic form prior to his incarnation?

John Calvin writes in Institutes, “For though He (Christ) was not yet clothed with flesh, He came down, so to speak, as an intermediary in order to approach believers more intimately. Therefore, this closer intercourse gave Him the name of angel.”

Key appearances

Appearances by the angel of the Lord span the days of Abraham to Zechariah. A sampling:

His appearance to Hagar (Gen. 16:7-13). Banished from Abraham’s tent, Hagar is sad, homeless and alone in the wilderness when the angel of the Lord appears to her and says, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.” Hagar recognizes the uniqueness of this angel, who claims the power of creation and knows the future. “Have I really seen here the One who sees me?” she cries.

His appearance to Abraham (Genesis 18). The angel appears with two others at Abraham’s tent and declares, “Your wife Sarah will have a son! … Is anything impossible for the Lord?” The same angel pronounces his pleasure in and blessings for Abraham at the offering up of Isaac (Genesis 22). 

His appearance to Moses (Ex. 3:1-6). While keeping his father-in-law’s flock in the desert near Mt. Horeb, Moses witnesses a thorn tree bursting into flame yet not consumed. The angel of the Lord says from the bush, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hides his face because he is afraid to look at God. On this historic occasion, God reveals His name as I AM WHO I AM (v. 14), the eternal, unchanging One. 

His appearance to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15). The angel comes to Joshua when he succeeds Moses as leader of Israel. The “Captain of the Host of the Lord” (KJV) requires of Joshua the same adoration and worship commanded of Moses.

His appearances to Isaiah and Ezekiel (Isa. 6:1-13; Eze. 1:1-28). Christ comes to both prophets as the Revealer of God. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel are granted a special manifestation of Yahweh and his glory at the time of their formal call to the prophetic office. John tells us that Isaiah beheld Christ and His glory (John 12:37-41).

His appearance to Zechariah (Zechariah 1-6). Zechariah describes a glorious person presiding over the affairs of the world – performing ministries no ordinary angel could match. He exhibits the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

The angel’s distinction from Yahweh

While the angel of the Lord sometimes is identified as Yahweh, He also is distinguished from him. How can this be? Consider:

• The angel intercedes for people to Yahweh – for example, on behalf of Jerusalem (Zech. 1:12-13).

• He calls upon Yahweh – for example, in the angel’s defense of Joshua before God (Zech. 3:1-2).

• He is Yahweh in essence, yet a distinct Person within the Trinity (Gen. 1:26; John 1:1-2, 12:37-41; Heb. 1:8-9).

• He works in concert with the Father and Holy Spirit in the creation of all things and the redemption of mankind (Gen. 1:1-2, 26; John 1:3; Col. 2:9; Eph. 1:1-14).

In Angels: Elect and Evil, C. Fred Dickason writes, “The Angel of Jehovah, then, according to all the evidence, seems to be the preincarnate Son. His appearances evidence His eternal existence.”

For a more detailed exploration of the angel of the Lord, see Jesus Before Bethlehem: What Every Christian Should Know about the Angel of the Lord.

Next: Satan — the evil one