ANGEL OF JEHOVAH

Psalm 148:2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Psalm 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.

TRINITY ARGUMENT: JESUS WAS THE "ANGEL OF JEHOVAH" IN THE O.T.

REBUTTAL: I. ANGEL OF JEHOVAH ^ JEHOVAH'S MESSENGER
yah-vay approximates the Hebrew word for "Jehovah"; mah-lawk approximates the Hebrew word for Messenger, or Angel.

And Yah-vay and Mah-lawk are never found in COMPOUND-FORM as the above examples, in Scripture. Though it is treated thusly, it is not found with God as its author.

And of course, there is Mah-lawk-m, the plural form to consider. If Mah-lawk refers to pre-existent Jesus, what then are we to understand of Mah-lawk-m? If Mah-lawk/Yah-vay and Mah-lawk-m/Yah-vay mean the same thing except that one is plural of the other, then we must understand that there is more than one "Angel of God" under consideration, and, furthermore, that he is signified by more than one designation. And, the CONTEXT alone is the determiner as to whether Mah-lawk/Yah-vah (angel of God) and Mah-lawk-m/Yah-vay (angels of God) share identity from one context to the next.

WHY IS THERE NO COMPOUND FORM OF "ANGEL OF GOD," IF SUCH IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE A CATEGORY OF SPECIES SEPARATE FROM ALL OTHERS? I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS NECESSARY, ONLY THAT IT IS LACKING. SOURDOUGH BREAD IS A COMPOUND DESIGNATION FOR ONE TYPE OF BREAD AMONG ALL TYPES OF BREAD. YET, WHAT IS PERCEIVED BY MANY, TO BE ONE DESIGNATION OF ANGEL AMONG MANY, HAS NO SUCH DESIGNATION. AGAIN, I DO NOT IMPLY THAT THIS IS NECESSARY, BUT IT IS SIGNIFICANT BY ITS ABSENCE.

There is NO CONTEXTUAL EVIDENCE that God sends the same messenger on every mission. But contrarily, we can determine that on some missions the identity of the messenger is KNOWN to be different from the identity of the messenger on other missions.

I offer HAG 1:13; MAL 2:7; & 3:1 as example:

Hag 1:13 Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD.

The Priest is the Mah-lawk/Yah-vay
Mal 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

John the Baptist is prophesied to be Mah-lawk of Yah-vay
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to this temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

MULTIPLE TERMS
In the thirteenth chapter of the book of Judges, we are presented with several terms which seem to apply to one individual:
Jdg 13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.(3) And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman,...

She described him to her husband as "a man of God" who's face was like an angel of God. (verse 6)
Jdgs 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

Manoah asked God to send the same one again to instruct Manoah (v 8)
Jdgs 13:8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

God complied; the "Angel of God" came again, signifying that the Angel of God of (v 9) was the same as the "Angel of the Lord" of (v 3);
Jdgs 13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

whom the woman identified as being the same (v 10),
Jdgs 13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

and to which the Angel testified that he was the same "man" who had spoken to her on the previous occasion (v 11),
Jdgs 13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

and he is identified as the "Angel of the Lord" (v 13).
Jdgs 13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

Manoah offered to feed the man, not knowing his identity (v 15)
Jdgs 13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

but the man refused, suggesting instead that Manoah might offer a burnt offering unto THE LORD. (v 16) (thus demonstrating that the "Angel of the Lord" was NOT the Lord);
Jdgs 13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

whereupon, when Manoah offered a sacrifice to the Lord, the Angel, doing "wonderously", ascended in the smoke of the sacrifice, to return no more, thusly assuring, for Manoah, his identity as an "Angel of the Lord" (v 19-21)
Jdg 13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

Jdg 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

Manoah knew that when an Angel from God spoke, it was as though it were God Himself; and spoke of the matter accordingly: (v 22)
Jdgs 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

Manoah's wife knew that the Angel had refused an offering of food, but that God had accepted an offering of sacrifice; and that therefore the Angel was not God (v 23).
Jdgs 13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

Thus do the scriptures supply us with a CONTEXT within which we can evaluate several terms which show that God sent a MA-LAWK which was represented at different times as the "angel of Jehovah," the "Angel of God," the "Man of God," and the "Man". In all of these presentations, his function was AS A MESSENGER.

CONSIDER NOW, THE STATEMENT MADE BY GOD IN THE 148TH PSALM AS REGARDS THE "MAH-LAWK."
THE "MAH-LAWK" WERE CREATED BEINGS:
Psa 148:2 Praise ye him, all his ANGELS (Mah-lawk): praise ye him, all his hosts. 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded and they WERE CREATED.

ANGEL (Mah-lawk) OF THE LORD (Yah-vay) IN HEBREW =
ANGEL (Angellos) OF THE LORD (kurios) IN GREEK.

IF JESUS WAS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHO WAS THE ANGEL OF THE LORD IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
APPEARED TO JOSEPH:
Mat 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

AND AGAIN TO JOSEPH:
Mat 2:13 And when they were departed behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

APPEARED AT THE TOMB OF JESUS:
Mat 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

IN THE TEMPLE:
Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

TO SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD:
Luk 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

IN THE PRISON IN JERUSALEM:
Act 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said...

AT MOUNT SINAI
Act 7:30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.

THIS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS AN ANGEL (Mah-lawk) OF THE LORD (Yah-vay).
Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

ON THE ROAD TO GAZA, TO PHILIP THE EVANGELIST:
Act 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

IN CAESAREA, TO CORNELIUS:
Act 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God (angellos) (theos) coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

IN CAESAREA, TO PETER, IN PRISON:
Act 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

IN CAESAREA, AT THE KING'S THRONE:
Act 12:23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

IN THE MIDST OF THE ADRIATIC SEA, TO PAUL:
Act 27:23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, (angellos theos) whose I am, and whom I serve,

OTHER "MAW-LAWK (angellos) TO BE CONSIDERED:
"ANGEL OF JEHOVAH" VS "ANGEL OF SATAN"
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate (GEN.6), but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (SEE 1PE 3:19-20)

WHATEVER HAPPENED, MAN IS NOT TO WORSHIP ANGELS:
Col 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

BUT "ANGELS OF GOD" WERE TOLD TO WORSHIP THE RESURRECTED CHRIST:
Heb 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, (FIRSTBEGOTTEN REFERS TO THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD) he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

BUT JESUS TOLD MEN IO WORSHIP THE FATHER:
John 4:21 Jesus saith unto her.... worship the Father. John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

WHICH PAUL SAYS THAT HE DID:
Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

HE WORSHIPS GOD, AND REJOICES IN CHRIST:
PHP 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

JESUS WAS NOT PRE-EXISTANT AS AN ANGEL:
Heb 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

AND JESUS WAS NEVER AN ANGEL...:
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels....
Go to PART IX: "HE SHALL BE CALLED JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"

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